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THE  LIBRARY 
OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


A    SPANISH    MAID 


A   SPANISH   MAID 


BY 

L.    QUILLER    COUCH 

AUTHOR   OF    "man,"    ETC.    ETC. 


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^tia   fork 

DODD    MEAD    &    COMPANY 

LONDON:    SERVICE  &    PATON 

1898 


/IDs  ICeacber 


6254G4 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE  afternoon  sun  glared  down  upon  the  plain 
and  upon  the  one  rough  tent  which  alone 
broke  the  even  stretch  of  the  ground.  All  around  lay 
silence  and  a  dry,  dazzling  desolation  as  if  the  world 
were  dead  and  the  sun  had  come  here  to  gloat  upon 
his  own  superior  longevity.  East,  west,  north,  south, 
as  far  as  an  eye  could  see,  the  bare  land  stretched 
until  it  met  the  wonderful,  radiating  sky,  with  never  a 
mound  or  a  hillock  to  cast  a  shadow  or  shut  the  view. 
Nothing  but  the  solitary  tent,  and,  at  the  back  of 
that  tent,  a  woman — dead. 

There  were  no  comforts  here  for  the  easing  of  death ; 
not  the  commonest  aids  or  simplest  reliefs.  A  pair 
of  unskilful  hands,  guided  by  a  mad,  overcharged  heart, 
had  raised  this  gibbose  shelter  to  the  end  that  death 
might  at  least  come  under  cover,  and  the  last  throes 

be  hidden    from   the   merciless   face  of  the  scorching, 

A  I 


2  A   SPANISH  MAID 

unabashed  sun  overhead.  A  tumbled  layer  of  gaudy 
shawls  formed  the  deathbed,  and  one  shawl  of  vivid 
scarlet  covered  the  rigid  body  to  the  waist,  but  the 
bloodless  features  were  bare,  as  were  the  ivory  hands 
crossed  saint-like  on  the  breast. 

The  face  of  the  dead  woman  was  finely  cut  and 
handsome,  framed  on  either  side  with  loose  waves 
of  jetty  hair,  but  the  curved  nostrils,  the  curling  lip, 
the  set  chin  left  the  silent  declaration  that  the  heart 
of  her  had  held  tumults — passion,  love,  anger — as 
plainly  as  if  the  words  had  been  written  across  her 
features.  Such  a  woman — such  a  woman  as  this  still 
shape  had  been — must  have  grasped  the  beaker  of 
Life  with  both  hands  fiercely,  and  have  drunk  to  the 
depths  of  rapture  and  pain,  in  reckless,  uncalculating 
draughts,  never  in  cautious  sips.  God  would  not 
match  those  features  to  a  placid  life.  But  now  the 
tumult  and  the  fierceness  were  over.  Death  had  put 
out  the  fire  from  her  eyes,  had  smoothed  the  passion 
lines  from  her  face,  had  wrested  away  the  wild  power 
of  her  will,  and  had  left  only  a  wonderful  calm. 

At  the  door  of  the  shelter  stood  a  living  figure — the 
figure  of  a  girl,  white  and  tense ;  her  eyes  fixed  on  the 
sunny  Spanish  plain  stretching  away  before  her,  seeing 
nothing,  hearing  nothing.  Only  in  her  small  brown 
hands  was  there  any  sign  of  life,  as  they  gripped  and 


A   SPANISH  MAW  3 

loosened  one  another  in  a  monotony  of  anguish, 
leaving  ten  bloodless  spots  each  time  the  fingers'  tension 
was  relaxed.  And  this  hving  face  at  the  door,  in 
spite  of  soft  curves  and  young  bloom,  was  as  the  face 
of  the  dead  woman  upon  the  gaudy  bed  within ;  holding 
the  same  possibilities,  the  same  elements  of  passion 
— restraint  unknown,  calm  impossible. 

And  the  hours  passed  on. 

The   day  colours   on  the  plain  became  dyed  in  the 
flush  of  sunset  and  still  the  girl  stood  there,  motionless 
except  for  the  ceaseless  grip  of  her  hands. 

By-and-bye  a  slow  dimness  fell  on  everything  and 
the  still  figure  grew  indistinct  in  the  doorway  beneath 
the  paling  sky.  Inside  the  tent  the  shadows  deepened 
to  blackness,  except  where  the  faint  light,  creeping 
through  the  doorway,  lay  on  the  motionless  form  on 
the  shawls. 

At  length  a  large  uneven  moon  rose  up  on  one  side 
of  the  sky,  and  a  musical  call  in  the  far  distance  sent 
its  echoes  across  the  silent  plain.  The  sound  roused 
the  girl  to  the  realisation  of  the  pain  which  had  been 
swelling  in  her  heart.  She  turned  from  the  outside 
world  with  a  sob,  and  faced  round ;  but  the  contrast 
from  the  brightness  of  the  moonlight  to  the  shadowy 
tent  struck  on  her  heart  with  a  great  stab  of  desolation 
and  falling  on  her  knees  by  the  dead  woman,  a  wailing. 


4  A   SPANISH  MAID 

childish  moan  broke  from  her^the  moan  of  a  young 
thing  yearning  to  be  comforted.  But  the  cold, 
passionless  face  gave  back  no  sympathy.  There  was  no 
comfort  to  be  given ;  nothing  but  desolation  and 
an  unspeakable  future. 

When  the  moon,  rising  higher,  threw  a  broad  white 
shaft  through  the  doorway,  it  lighted  a  strange  scene. 
The  girl  had  ceased  her  moaning.  For  an  hour  or 
more  she  had  knelt  there  with  the  misery  surging 
into  full  life  in  her  heart.  Passionately,  despairingly, 
she  had  implored  some  word  or  token  from  the  cold, 
unresponsive  lips.  "  Mother  !  My  mother  !  "  she  had 
sobbed  beseechingly,  her  cry  rising  to  an  anguished 
wail.  "  My  mother !  all  that  I  love !  speak  to  me 
again  !  Tell  me  again,  must  I  do  it  ?  Say  once  more 
that  you  loved  me  best,  and  I  will  even  go  to  him. 
Oh  my  mother !  my  beloved  ! " 

But  no  response  had  come  from  the  dead  lips. 

Then,  at  length,  as  her  cry  rang  unanswered,  and  the 
silence  mocked  at  her  misery  and  her  undesired  worship, 
all  the  evil  in  her — a  thick  sediment — rose  in  defiance. 
She  realised  that  she  was  alone,  that  the  mother  who 
had  claimed  and  accepted  all  her  adoration  had  left 
her  to  misery  and  loneliness ;  and  she  raved  at  the  dead 
woman  so  impotent  and  so  indifferent. 

"  Go  back  to  that  devil  and  his  tribe  ?     Go  back  and 


A   SPANISH  MAID  5 

be  of  his  people  ?  Go  back  to  be  a  tortured  slave  ?  I 
will  not  go  ! " 

She  rose  from  the  ground.  Her  eyes  flashed,  and  a 
spot  burned  on  each  cheek  as  if  seared  with  a  pointed 
iron ;  her  small  hands  were  clenched,  and  the  last 
remnants  of  love  and  mourning  went  dying  from  her 
heart.     The  girl  was  changed  utterly. 

"  You  are  dead,"  she  cried,  in  hard  contempt,  "  I 
have  to  live ;  and  the  wide-stretched  plains  of  Spain  are 
too  narrow  to  hold  me  and — my  chief." 

She  quivered  with  her  rage ;  and  then,  with  a  swift, 
cruel  movement,  she  snatched  a  soft,  scarlet  scarf  from 
beneath  the  head  of  the  dead  woman  she  had  caressed 
so  passionately  a  short  hour  before,  and  winding  it 
round  her  own  dark  face  and  shoulders,  turned  from  the 
still  form  without  another  look  or  word  of  parting,  and 
ran  from  the  tent,  out  into  the  moonlight  and  across  the 
solitude  of  the  plain. 

For  an  hour  or  more  there  was  silence.  The  soft 
thud  of  the  girl's  retreating  feet  had  died  quickly  away 
in  the  distance,  and  no  living  ear  was  there  to  conjure 
back  their  echoes.  The  plain  was  bright  and  shadowless 
as  at  noon,  and  the  dead  woman  lay  unmolested  on  her 
bright  draperies,  white,  and  wonderfully  beautiful  in  the 
broad  stream  of  moonlight  which  fell  upon  her. 

At  length,  away  across  the  plain,  at  the  back  of  the 


6  A   SPANISH  MAID 

shelter,  a  dark  mass  grew  slowly  out  of  nothingness — a 
dark  mass  which  gradually  drew  nearer  and  nearer, 
and,  in  so  doing,  lengthened,  and  curved,  and  advanced, 
as  some  strange  and  gigantic  serpent ;  and  then,  as 
the  night  minutes  passed,  this  serpent,  drawing  yet 
nearer,  took  shape,  and  showed  itself  to  be  a  slowly- 
marching  line  of  men  and  beasts,  wending  their  way 
onwards  across  the  plain.  Nearer  still  they  came,  a 
tribe  of  Spanish  wanderers,  strong-built  and  swarthy, 
with  heavily-burdened  mules  bearing  their  food  and 
few  possessions,  and  a  handful  of  dark-skinned  women 
following  in  their  train. 

Suddenly  the  foremost  figure  halted;  his  eyes  had 
sighted  the  unusual  presence  of  the  little  tent  upon 
the  broad  white  stretch  of  the  plain  before  him. 
Wheeling  about,  he  uttered  a  clear,  musical  call  which 
rang  out  weirdly  in  the  stillness,  and  at  the  sound 
of  it  the  long  line  of  wanderers  came  to  a  standstill. 
There  was  a  trampling  of  hoofs,  a  short  confusion  of 
voices,  and  then  the  leader,  giving  over  his  mule  to 
the  care  of  the  man  nearest  him,  advanced  alone. 

A  swarthy,  sinewy  man  he  was,  of  enormous  height, 
in  well-worn  velvet,  with  a  broad  silken  sash  bound 
about  his  waist.  He  came  with  a  steady,  swinging 
stride,  with  the  notes  of  a  wild,  solemn-sounding  chant 
upon  his  lips,   with  careless  courage  in  his  heart,  to 


A   SPANISH  MAID  7 

seek  chance  booty.  Then,  placing  his  hand  upon  the 
gleaming  handle  of  his  knife,  he  held  aside  the  curtain 
of  the  tent  and  stooped  to  enter  the  doorway. 

What  he  saw  there  seemed  to  startle  him,  for  he 
uttered  a  sharp  cry  of  wonder,  and  stepping  quickly 
back,  tore  the  loose  curtain  from  its  supports  that  the 
full  light  might  fall  on  all.  But  when  this  was  done, 
when  the  cold  moonlight  shone  down  unshadowed,  a 
sudden  power  seemed  to  hold  him  still  and  rigid,  and 
there  were  many  moments  of  absolute  silence.  Then 
suddenly,  the  man  leaned  forward  with  horror  and 
amazement  graven  deep  upon  his  face,  and  another 
subdued  cry  broke  from  him.  His  starting  eyes  held  fear 
in  them,  and  recognition.  And  suddenly  he  knew  that 
the  search  of  years  had  come  to  an  end. 

It  was  no  spirit-fancy,  no  trick  of  the  brain.  The 
still,  white  woman  on  the  bed  was  real — and  dead  !  As 
the  man  realised  it  his  hand  grew  weak  upon  his  knife, 
and  his  tongue  clave  dry  to  his  mouth;  and  then  an 
anger  which  had  blazed  in  his  heart  for  years  was 
deadened  for  a  while.  In  time,  as  he  stood  and  looked 
down  upon  the  woman,  some  of  the  deadened  anger 
blazed  back  to  fierce  Ufe  again,  but  mingling  with  it 
came  the  fire  of  another  mighty  passion  —  a  passion 
older  than  his  wrath — it  was  his  love  !  And  he  gripped 
the  handle  of  his  knife  again  as  the  two  passions  fought 
in  his  heart. 


8  A   SPANISH  MAID 

He  had  hunted  her  so  long,  with  vengeance  in  his 
heart  and  curses  on  his  lips,  to  repay  those  old  days 
when  she  had  tricked  and  foiled  him,  maddened  and 
bewitched  him,  stabbing  his  very  soul  with  jealousy  till 
he  hated  her  as  fiercely  as  he  had  loved  her,  yet  holding 
him,  strong  man  as  he  was,  enthralled  in  her  power  even 
while  he  longed  to  kill  her.  This  dead  woman  had 
played  a  cruel,  one-sided  game,  until  that  day — the  day 
on  which  his  turn  began,  the  birthday  of  Teresa.  Then 
he  had  returned  her  pain  for  pain,  unsparing,  illimitable. 
How  he  had  gloried  in  it !  How  she  had  winced  and 
fought  when  he  had  tortured  the  child  !  How  her  fury 
had  eased  his  fever  of  pain  !  But  she  had  baulked  him 
again,  and  the  fever  was  but  fiercer  when  she  stole  her 
child  and  fled  from  him. 

To-night  it  seemed  to  him  that  that  flight  belonged  to 
some  long  past  age,  it  rose  so  far  away  in  his  memory. 
Ever  since  that  day  he  had  followed,  seeking  her  with 
his  implacable  anger  seething  ceaselessly  in  his  heart. 
And  now  he  had  found  her,  within  reach  of  his  hand. 
He  might  seize  her  if  he  would,  and  crush  her  in  his 
grip;  he  might  clutch  at  her  rounded  throat,  or  strike 
her  across  her  curling  lips.  But  she  was  white  and  dead 
and  unresisting.  Even  as  he  looked  his  anger  ebbed 
away ;  he  forgot  her  fickle  heart  and  her  wild  witcheries. 
He  forgot  the  child  who  had  basked  in  the  love  which 


A  SPANISH  MAID  9 

had  been  held  back  from  him,  and  he  stood  staring 
down  at  the  still  face,  and  the  night  hours  wore  on, 
and  the  lines  about  his  rigid  mouth  grew  softer;  and 
at  last  he  stooped  and  smoothed  her  icy  forehead  with 
his  hard,  brown  hand ;  and  then  he  kneeled,  all 
trembling,  and  clasped  his  arms  about  the  stiffening 
body. 

The  moon,  which  had  looked  so  long  upon  the  white 
woman  on  her  scarlet  bed,  turned  her  gentle  face  away 
and  left  the  scene  dim  and  unwitnessed.  And  the 
night  passed  silently. 

At  length  the  cheery  young  dawn,  ignorant  of  the 
moon's  mercy  and  less  considerate,  came  to  take  her 
place,  looking  with  a  rosy  face  athwart  the  plain,  on 
living  and  on  dead  alike.  As  his  warm  flush  rested  on 
the  woman's  face,  giving  to  it  a  fictitious  glow  more 
ghastly  than  its  own  pallor,  the  man  raised  the  body 
from  its  resting-place,  and  taking  it  in  his  arms  as  if 
it  were  a  sleeping  child,  bore  it  away  from  the  ruins 
of  the  shelter  he  had  torn  from  it,  to  the  waiting  tribe 
in  the  distance. 

"  You  did  not  call,"  said  the  man  who  stepped  forward 
to  meet  him. 

"  I  did  not  need  you,"  answered  the  chief. 

"  You  have  found  her  ?  "  the  brown-skinned  men  and 
women  questioned  eagerly,  noting  his  burden. 


lo  A   SPANISH  MAID 

"  I  have  found  her,"  he  replied  tersely. 

"  Does  she  submit  ?  "  they  demanded. 

*'  She  is  dead,"  he  declared. 

"  Dead  ! "  they  cried  in  amazement.  "  Dead  !  And 
the  girl — Teresa  ?  " 

But  he  was  laying  his  burden  with  rough  care  upon 
the  ground  and  did  not  heed  them. 

"  The  girl,  Teresa,  what  of  her  ?  "  they  persisted. 

"  Teresa,  Teresa  ! "  he  murmured  absently,  "  I  had 
forgotten  Teresa."  Then,  rousing  himself,  the  evil  light 
came  back  into  his  eyes.  "We  will  seek  her  by-and- 
bye,"  he  promised. 


CHAPTER  II. 

"  TXT'E  will  seek  her  by-and-bye." 

^  '  The  ear  of  Teresa's  imagination  heard  the 
words  and  gauged  the  value  of  the  note  which  ran 
through  them ;  also,  she  could  see  the  evil  light  in 
those  eyes,  and  could  feel  again  the  stinging  lash  and 
the  pointed  goad ;  and  she  knew  that  the  seeking  would 
be  relentless. 

The  moon  had  looked  down  upon  her  flight ;  and 
the  pink  dawn  which  struck  across  her  mother's  face  as 
she  lay  under  the  eyes  of  her  captor,  fell  on  the  girl 
hurrying  westward  from  the  pursuit  of  the  one  living 
being  she  feared.  Others  she  could  trick  and  cajole — 
she  had  done  so  a  hundred  times — but  there  could  be 
neither  tricks  nor  cajoleries  with  the  father  who  stood 
to  her  in  lieu  of  devil.  He  knew  them  all  and  acted 
according  to  that  knowledge. 

She  might  have  been  some  spirit  of  evil — this  girl, 
Teresa — as  she  hurried  on  her  way;  her  lithe  body 
curving  forward  in  her  impatience,  her  dark  eyes  burn- 
ing,  the    gaudy   shawl   wound    about   her,   demanding 

II 


12  A   SPANISH  MAID 

rather  than  pleading  for  food  at  the  villages  through 
which  she  passed.  And  the  peasants,  as  they  looked 
into  her  face,  read  something  in  her  imperious  eyes 
which  taught  them  either  charity  or  terror,  for  they  gave 
her  what  she  asked  and  ventured  no  question  in  return. 
To  the  length  of  her  journey  she  paid  no  heed,  nor 
did  she  note  the  morning  give  place  to  noonday  and 
noonday  to  evening;  the  night  itself  was  but  a 
hindrance,  nothing  more. 

At  last,  one  morning,  when  the  darkness  had  rolled 
back  from  the  land,  her  eager  eyes  looked  on  the 
wonderful  welcome  of  the  sea,  bordering  the  horizon 
and  melting  into  the  mist  of  the  sky  above  it ;  and  her 
heart-beats  came  hurrying  with  her  gladness  as  she 
gazed  and  gazed,  and  scented  the  brine  of  it  in  the 
breeze.  In  spite  of  her  long  tramp,  with  its  scant  meals 
and  grudged  baitings,  her  lids  were  wide  and  her  steps 
light  as  she  reached  the  crowded,  evil-smelling  town 
and  stood  upon  the  bustling  quay. 

It  was  still  early  morning,  but  the  sun  was  wide- 
awake now,  and  as  he  turned  his  great  hot  face  on  his 
cloud-pillow  he  rolled  back  the  thin  pink  mist  curtain 
from  over  the  waters,  and  opened  his  blazing  eyes  upon 
the  world,  gilding  all  the  masts,  and  ropes,  and  limply- 
hanging  sails  at  anchor  in  the  bay.  It  was  all  a 
wonderful  sight  to  the  girl  of  the  plains,  and  she  sank 


A  SPANISH  MAID  13 

on  to  a  rough  stone  bench,  unnoticed  by  the  chattering, 
chaffering  men  and  women  round  about  her,  and  looked 
out  beyond  the  harbour. 

This  was  what  she  had  come  for.  This  was  why 
she  had  toiled  on  through  heat,  and  glare,  and  darkness. 
To  reach  the  sea,  and  sail,  and  sail,  away  to  some 
other  land — some  far-distant  land — where  that  pursuing 
devil  could  never  find  her.  And  she  must  not  rest, 
nor  loiter;  even  now  he  was  hurrying  nearer  to  her; 
each  moment  meant  a  closer  step. 

But  though,  in  truth,  there  were  the  ships,  she  who 
needed  them  so  sorely  was  yet  helpless  on  the  shore, 
without  money  or  a  friend ;  and  as  she  sat,  and  looked, 
and  thought,  she  realised  her  extremity,  and  her  pulses 
beat  fever-fast,  and  her  temples  throbbed. 

As  she  sat  there  chafing,  gripping  her  hot  hands  and 
breathing  quick  breaths,  with  her  desperate,  darting  eyes 
she  noted,  apart  from  all  the  other  craft,  a  strange, 
dark,  square-rigged  vessel,  lying  at  anchor  in  the 
distance ;  and,  as  she  noted  it,  her  eyes  became  riveted, 
so  curious  a  ship  it  was — almost  graceful,  yet  almost 
evil.  To  Teresa  it  seemed,  all  suddenly,  that,  from  this 
ship,  invisible  arms  reached  out  to  hold  her,  to  draw  her, 
and  she  watched  and  watched  until  it  seemed  as  if  her 
soul's  welfare  were  entangled  in  its  cordage.  As  the 
last  traces  of  the  morning  mist  melted  into  the  sky,  she 


14  A  SPANISH  MAID 

could  see  that  many  men  were  moving  on  the  deck, 
and  that  then  a  boat  was  lowered  and  lay  for  some 
minutes  heaving  on  the  water.  After  a  while  two 
figures  clambered  down  the  vessel's  side,  and  stepping 
into  the  boat  pushed  it  off,  then  a  strip  of  daylight 
showed  between  boat  and  vessel,  and  the  boat  drew 
slowly  and  silently  towards  the  quay. 

The  two  men  at  the  oars  pulled  with  long,  indolent 
strokes,  and  Teresa,  watching,  forgot  her  fears  and  her 
weariness,  and  all  the  noise  and  strangeness  of  the  scene 
about  her,  as  the  boat  moved  across  the  wonderful  blue 
of  the  waters  toward  the  dull  green  stone-work  of  the 
quay.  There,  having  made  fast  their  ropes  to  the  iron 
ring,  the  men  stepped  out,  and  climbing  the  steep,  tide- 
washed  steps,  mingled  with  the  noisy,  bargaining  crowd. 
Teresa,  leaning  forward  on  her  bench  to  watch  them 
as  they  came  in  view,  drew  back  with  a  quick  gasp  of 
horror  as  she  looked  upon  them  closely.  She  had 
never  seen  men  such  as  these  before.  Unlike  the 
swarthy  Spaniards  she  had  always  looked  upon,  these 
men  were  small  and  ghastly,  with  lank,  colourless  hair, 
and  pale  faces,  clear  and  swelled  as  the  faces  of 
drowned  persons. 

For  many  minutes  her  eyes  followed  them  as  they 
passed  and  repassed  silently  in  the  throng,  staring 
before   them   with   pale,  abstracted  eyes  which  seemed 


A   SPANISH  MAID  15 

to  focus  nothing.  And  then  a  quick  decision  came  to 
Teresa.  There  was  no  time  now  to  spare  for  the 
weighing  of  right  against  wrong ;  she  could  think  of  no 
better  chance ;  and,  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  she 
rose  from  the  bench  and  walked  away  from  the  busy 
sailors  and  the  chafferers,  and  stole  down  the  slimy 
green  steps  to  the  boat  which  lay  moored  at  the  foot  of 
them.  Then  she  stepped  into  it  and  looked  about 
her. 

Above  she  could  hear  the  voices  of  the  people, 
gossiping  and  bargaining,  exchanging  their  news  and 
their  wares  with  equal  readiness  for  fresh  details  and 
current  coin  respectively.  Around  lay  the  heaving  sea, 
blue  and  sparkling.  At  a  distance,  apart  from  the 
ordinary  busy  craft,  loomed  the  strange  black  vessel  with 
its  curious  rigging.  And  there  in  the  boat  she  stood 
alone,  rocking  gently  at  the  foot  of  the  dark  steps  and 
considering  of  her  course. 

As  the  girl  paused,  her  eyes  fell  upon  some  dark  sail- 
cloth lying  up  in  the  boat's  bow,  and  again  her  decision 
was  swift.  Glancing  hurriedly  upward  to  note  that  she 
was  unobserved,  she  crawled  to  the  bow  and  drew  the 
sail-cloth  lightly  over  herself,  and  lay  there  motionless, 
painfully  conscious  of  the  leaping  pulses  which  beat  in 
her  throat  and  ears. 

Before  half-an-hour  had  passed,  the  white-faced  oars- 


i6  A   SPANISH  MAID 

men   came   down  the  steps  again    to   their   boat,  and, 
loosing  her,  silently  took  their  places  at  the  rowlocks. 
They  brought  nothing  with  them  from  the  town,  and 
they  said  no  word  to  one  another,  but  they  gripped  their 
oars  and  pulled  slowly  away  from  the  quay  towards  the 
vessel   outside   the    harbour.      They   had   not  glanced 
towards  the  sail-cloth  in  the  bows,  and  Teresa  strove  to 
check  the  rise  and  fall  of  her  breast  as  she  lay  gasping 
under  the  weight  of  it.      When  she  reckoned  that  the 
distance   to   the   ship   must  be  well-nigh  covered,  she 
softly  bared  her  face  and  looked  about  her.     The  vessel 
was  near  now,  and  here  and  there  at  the  sides  she  could 
see  men  moving  and  working  intently,  and  she  guessed 
that   they   were    preparing    for    departure.      The    men 
in  the   boat   heard   none    of    her    careful   movements, 
but  pulled  steadily  on  unconscious  of  the  freight  aboard. 
Suddenly  she   spoke,   and    her  voice  was   high   and 
imperious.     The  men  as  suddenly  ceased  their  rowing, 
and,  turning  slowly,  looked  at  her.      Their  awful  faces 
struck  a  chill  at  her  heart,  and  as  their  pale,  unearthly 
eyes  met  hers,  she  shivered  in   the  hot  sunshine;    but 
the  wild,  hurrying  thought  of  the  man  who  was  pursuing 
her,  brought  with   it   a   sharp  intolerance  of  her  own 
weakness. 

"  I  wish  to   cross   the   sea,"  she  declared,  the  com- 
manding  power   in   her   eyes   rivalling   the   anger  now 


t) 


A  SPANISH  MAID  17 

gleaming  in  theirs.  "  I  wish  to  sail  to  another  land. 
Your  vessel  will  soon  be  on  its  way,  and  I  desire  to  sail 
in  it." 

Her  words  which  began  so  imperiously  trailed  off  into 
a  note  of  pleading,  as  the  strength  of  her  will  recognised 
a  still  stronger  will  in  these  terrible  men ;  but  when  she 
had  ceased  there  was  silence.  The  paUid  brows  of  the 
men  were  scowling ;  a  narrow  line  of  clenched  teeth 
showed  from  between  their  lips,  but  they  uttered  no 
sound. 

Then    suddenly  they  started  to  their  feet,  and  with 

gripped  hands  stood  before  her,  and  the  boat   swayed 

perilously,  and  the  girl's  heart  thumped  as  if  to  choke 

her.     She  had  been  in  desperate  straits  and  disinclined 

to   cavil   at   any    means   which   could   bring   her   to  a 

stranger-land,  but  between  the  ever-present  terror  which 

was  so  surely  following  her  across  the  plains,  and  these 

ghastly  men  who  faced  her  with  death   in   their  eyes, 

she  quivered  for  a  moment  as  with  some  bodily  sickness, 

her  heart  shrank  small,  and  she  felt  that  the  touch  of 

these  clear,  white  fingers  would  throw  her  shrieking  into 

madness.      With  her   eyes  riveted  on  the   eyes   which 

glared  back  into  hers  she  crouched  in  the  bows,  while 

the  silence  seemed  most  awful,  and,  in  it,  her  own  words 

struck  back  on  her  ears,  and  echoed  and    hung   upon 

the  hot  air. 

B 


i8  A    SPANISH   MAID 

Then,  with  a  hellish  look  on  his  face,  the  nearer  man 
started  forward  to  seize  her;  his  swelled  hand  clawed 
the  air  and  almost  clutched  her ;  but  with  one 
dominant  instinct  impelling  her — to  escape  that  touch — 
she  sprang  back  quickly  and  turned  to  jump  from  the 
boat  into  the  water  as  it  gently  lapped  against  the  prow. 
In  an  instant  the  second  man  had  gripped  his  fellow  by 
the  shoulder,  and  again  they  stood  in  silence  with  but 
their  attitudes  rearranged — one  pallid  man  in  the  grip 
of  the  other,  the  girl  with  her  foot  on  the  edge  of  the 
swaying  boat  ready  to  plunge,  and  the  hot  morning  sun 
shining  merrily  down  on  all. 

As  they  stood,  in  this  wise,  waiting  for  Fate  to  dictate 
the  next  move,  a  mournful  wail  came  to  them  across 
the  waters.  The  men  turned  their  eyes  towards  the 
dark  ship,  and  they  noted  that  she  was  ready  to  heave 
anchor  and  move  upon  her  way.  Then  again  they 
turned  and  looked  back  at  the  stretch  of  sea  to  be 
retraced  if  they  were  to  rid  themselves  of  this  girl.  And 
the  quay  was  far,  and  the  ship  was  near ;  and,  grinding 
their  teeth  in  silent  rage,  they  took  their  oars  again  and 
pulled  swiftly  towards  the  vessel. 

In  this  fashion  Fate  dictated ;  and  the  girl's  future 
moved  a  step  closer.  Whether  in  rehef  or  terror  she 
must  go  forward  now  in  the  power  of  the  men  she  had 
thought  to  cajole ;  and  she  crouched  again  in  the  bow 
jn  silence. 


A   SPANISH  MAID 


19 


When  the  boat  reached  the  high,  black  side  of  the 
ship  the  men  cHmbed  swiftly  up  to  the  deck  leaving 
Teresa  to  follow  as  she  could.  At  the  top  of  the  ladder 
many  faces  were  gathered  to  confront  her — sullen, 
amazed,  resentful  faces — but  she  was  there,  on  their 
deck,  with  a  stretch  of  sea  on  every  side,  and,  despite 
their  anger,  they  were  forced  to  let  her  be ;  there  was 
no  time  now  for  the  bandying  of  words.  The  light 
winds  springing  up  were  not  to  be  wasted  for  a  girl's 
whims ;  and  the  anchor  was  raised,  the  sails  flapped, 
then  slowly  swelled  in  the  capricious  breeze,  and  the 
square-rigged  vessel  glided  slowly  over  the  waters, 
with  the  silent,  white-faced  crew  to  guide  her  on 
her  way. 

And  the  Spaniard  stood  alone  and  apart,  with  an 
alert  look,  half-fear,  half-triumph  in  her  dark  eyes. 
That  white-faced  crew  chilled  her  very  blood  when 
they  moved  near  to  her,  but  she  was  free,  she  had 
escaped,  she  was  sailing  to  other  lands  ;  and  the  voyage 
could  not  last  for  ever. 

Some  dark,  unhallowed  souls,  it  has  been  told,  roam 
ever,  accursed  and  void  of  peace,  over  the  broad, 
deep  waters  of  the  world,  crying  aloud  in  some  rare 
periods,  out  of  their  unbearable  anguish,  but  more  often 
sailing  on,  with  stern  and  pallid  faces,  betraying  by  no 
sign,  nor  cry,  nor  tremor  the  agony  scorching  in  their 


20  A    SPANISH   MAID 

veins  and  tearing  their  souls.  So  did  this  dark,  evil- 
seeming  ship,  with  its  deathlike  crew,  move  slowly 
over  the  face  of  the  ocean,  silent  and  awful,  as  a 
floating  casket  of  Death's  trophies,  a  group  of  lost, 
tortured  souls ;  but  for  that  one  figure  of  Uving  discord, 
a  spot  of  garish  brilliance,  crude  against  the  gloomy 
pallor  —  glowing,  half-triumphant;  standing  out  as  a 
spirit  quick  with  evil,  in  a  company  of  still,  enduring 
sin. 

Time  was  unheeded  on  board  the  black  ship.     Night 
and  day  went  unregarded.     On,  and  on,  and  always  on, 
over  an  endless  waste  of  waters.     And  when  the  fervid 
shores  of  Spain  had  suddenly  faded  from  sight  came  no 
more  shores,  no  signs  of  life  nor  means  of  living ;  nothing 
but  boundless,   heaving   water.     Always   water,    always 
silence ;  always  a  gloomy,  unseen  presence,  as  of  Death, 
hovering  in  the  air.     And  the  past  lengthened,  and  the 
future  drew  nearer,  as  the  ship  moved  on,  and   in  the 
present  there  sat  that  vivid  figure  upon  the  dark  deck, 
reckless,  yet  half-fearful.     And  the  pale  men  passed  and 
repassed  her  as  they  went  about  their  work ;  and  she  saw 
that  they  hated  her,  and  she  knew  that  if  a  finger's  touch 
from  their  clear  hands  should   fall  upon  her  she   must 
shriek  in  terror.     Yet,  so  long  as  the  finger's  touch  did 
not  fall  upon  her,  nor  the  eyes  do  more  than  glower,  she 
laughed  at  their  awesome  faces,  and  her  own  eyes  glittered 


A  SPANISH  MAID  21 

cruelly  as  she  filled  in  the  grave  of  the  one  tenderness 
her  heart  had  ever  known — the  love  for  her  mother — 
and  buried  it  for  ever. 

And  the  sky  above,  and  the  waters  below,  were  just 
two  wide,  unbounded  stretches  of  changeless  blue. 

"I  dream — in  very  truth,  I  dream,"  the  girl  would 
murmur,  "and  yet  this  is  no  dream." 

And  at  length,  after  a  spell  of  time — moments,  or  days, 
or  hours — of  strange  unreality,  Teresa  rose  from  the  coil 
of  black  ropes  on  which  she  had  rested,  and,  tossing 
aside  her  fear,  kept  only  the  recklessness.  A  wild  heed- 
lessness possessed  her.  She  paced  the  deck  lightly,  to 
and  fro,  to  and  fro,  spreading  her  hands  to  the  empty 
air,  singing  gay  snatches  of  the  passionate  wander- 
songs  she  had  learned  from  her  mother.  It  pleased 
her  to  hear  her  own  full  notes,  from  defiant  rise  to 
mournful  cadence,  cut  the  great  silence,  to  stretch  her 
limbs  in  protest  of  her  Uberty.  It  gave  her  courage ; 
and  with  the  courage  came  pleasure,  as  she  noted  the 
angry  amazement  of  the  crew  as  they  gazed  upon 
her. 

But  even  as  she  noted  it,  a  sudden  wild  change  rolled 
across  the  sky  and  fell  upon  the  water.  The  strange 
spell  of  peace  which  her  voice  had  broken  passed 
away.  A  fierce  anger  seemed  to  fill  the  air,  tearing  the 
sky  and  lashing  the  sea.     The  ship  heaved  and  lurched 


22  A    SPANISH    MAID 

as  it  met  the  boiling  waves ;  the  foam  seethed  round 
about  its  prow.  Across  the  heavens  flamed  a  jagged  line 
of  fire,  fearful  and  continuous.  The  masts  creaked  and 
shivered ;  the  loose  canvas  billowed  and  struck  with 
cracks  as  of  pistol  shots,  then  was  rent  with  a  tear- 
ing moan  as  of  a  human  voice  in  anguish.  And 
the  wind  roared,  and  boomed,  and  wailed;  and  the 
merry  sun  shrouded  his  face  in  awe. 

Teresa,  with  her  lithe  arms  still  outstretched,  the 
mocking  smile  in  her  eyes  and  her  gay  song  yet  in 
her  throat,  stood  suddenly  still  in  unutterable  wonder, 
half-fancying  that  some  mad  chorus  had  clashed  forth  to 
swell  her  song.  But  in  a  moment  the  sense  of  danger 
overwhelmed  her,  and  she  ran  from  side  to  side  of 
the  ship  in  a  panic  of  fear,  crying  aloud  for  help  and 
comfort  in  her  terror. 

But  as  she  faced  the  silent  men  a  yet  greater  terror 
fell  upon  her — terror  of  a  fate  crueller  and  more  sure 
than  wind,  or  waves,  or  fire ;  for  a  row  of  fierce, 
implacable,  white  faces  met  her  eyes,  and  hatred, 
fury,  and  threat  of  death  came  towards  her  in  every 
silent  breath.  For  a  moment  she  stood,  blanched 
and  cowering,  with  her  heart  all  weak  and  small  in 
her  shivering  body,  as  she  looked  into  the  unyielding 
eyes  and  read  the  strength  of  their  determination. 

She    had    forced    her   way   to   their  ship;    she   had 


A   SPANISH  MAID  23 

defied  and  ignored  them ;  she  had  paced  their  silent 
decks  in  her  noisy  insolence,  her  eyes  flashing,  her 
arms  waving,  and  her  wild  songs  surging  to  the  sea 
and  sky.  And  the  sea  and  sky  had  answered  her 
evil  incantations  with  anger  and  vengeance.  Were 
they,  this  hopeless  vessel's  hopeless  crew,  to  suffer 
the  wrath  of  Heaven  for  her  sinfulness  as  well  as 
for  their  own?  Were  they  to  be  swept  from  their 
one  small  foothold  by  the  blasphemous  mockery  of 
an  unbidden  demon?  They  glared  and  snarled  at 
her  with  their  pale  eyes  and  swelled,  clear  lips,  and 
looking  back  at  them  she  seemed  to  read  her  doom. 

"  Ah  ! "  she  shrieked  in  terror,  as  her  heart  grew  faint 
and  her  limbs  rigid,  "  let  me  go  from  you !  Let  me 
go!" 

At  the  sound  of  her  voice  they  rushed  towards  her, 
and  then,  in  the  horror  and  dread  of  their  touch  her 
heart  beat  again  madly ;  again  she  moved  her  lips  to 
shriek,  but  her  voice  seemed  to  have  died,  and  she 
staggered  back,  frenzied  and  desperate,  to  the  ship's 
side.  But  there,  against  a  coil  of  cordage,  lay  a  keen- 
bladed  hatchet,  and,  in  an  instant,  she  had  seized  it,  and 
was  cleaving  the  air  wildly,  brandishing  it  in  the 
desperate  faces  now  closely  confronting  her.  But  scorn- 
ful of  one  girl's  puny  strength,  they  closed  upon  her, 
their  lank  hair  blowing  in  the  gale,  their  ghastly  features 


24  ^    SPANISH   MAID 

lighted  by  the  flames  which  shot  across  the  sky.  The 
strength  against  the  girl  was  overwhelming,  but  her  mad 
fear  forced  her  to  attempt  defence,  and  raising  the 
hatchet  high  to  her  head  she  brought  it  down  heavily 
upon  the  arm  stretched  first  to  clutch  her. 

Then,  above  the  roar  and  tumult  of  the  storm  her 
shrieks  rose  again,  wild  and  panic-stricken,  for  the  shock 
of  the  blow  came  thrilling  back  through  her  arteries. 
The  deck  shook  as  if  its  timbers  were  tearing  asunder ; 
and  with  glaring,  dilated  eyes  she  saw  that  the  gaping 
wound  which  the  steel  had  left  upon  the  outstretched 
arm  was  white  and  bloodless  as  the  outer  skin. 

Then,  still  shrieking,  Teresa  felt  the  cold,  thick  hands 
fasten  upon  her,  gripping  her  arms  and  congealing  her 
surging  blood.  The  horror  of  it  turned  her  faint  and 
cold,  impotent  to  resist  the  strength  ranged  against  her, 
unable  even  to  spring  to  the  waves  which  rose  to  the 
deck  to  meet  her.  And  the  tempest  raged,  and  the 
black  ship  rolled,  as  the  dumb  sailors  dragged  the 
Spaniard  to  the  side  to  hurl  her  down  into  the  seething 
waters. 

But,  as  they  raised  her  in  their  arms,  a  scorching  glare 
of  light  blazed  upon  them  all,  searching  the  very  hearts 
of  the  passionate  men ;  and  the  ghastly  remembrance  of 
a  terrible  past  raged  in  them.  With  one  impulse  they 
stayed   their    hands;    the  girl  swayed  back,  and  there 


A  SPANISH  MAID  25 

fell  on  all  things — sea,  sky,  and  ship — a  breathless 
pause. 

For  a  full  minute  it  seemed  that  the  whole  world  had 
died,  and  the  men  stood  rigid,  as  fearful  of  the  death 
as  of  the  living  presence  of  the  Spaniard. 

Then  again  the  hurricane  tore  across  the  sky ;  the 
spell  was  broken  ;  and  again  the  sailors  gripped  the  girl, 
and,  binding  her  with  ropes,  carried  her  shrieking  to  the 
hold. 

And  the  lightning  shivered  "  across  the  sky,  and  the 
waters  raged,  and  the  dark  ship  flew  before  the  roaring 
wind. 


CHAPTER  III. 

^  I  "^HE  fury  of  the  storm  was  tremendous  as  it  swept 
-*-  over  the  point  of  Western  England  on  that  black 
September  night,  and  Landecarrock  village  felt  it  in  full 
measure.  The  wind  tore,  wailing,  round  the  weather- 
stained  church  upon  the  cliif ;  it  bent  the  slanting  tomb- 
stones yet  lower  to  the  earth.  It  bowed  and  buffeted 
the  stunted  trees  which  had  battled  bravely  with  so  many 
storms  before  this  night,  snapping  their  weaker  boughs 
with  no  measure  of  mercy.  It  shrieked  angrily  through 
the  one  narrow  street;  it  deafened  the  quick  ears  of  Peter 
Ludgven,  the  coastguard,  as  he  struggled  along  the  rugged 
cliff  path,  with  his  face  turned  seawards,  sometimes  crawl- 
ing on  hands  and  knees  round  a  more  sheltered  corner 
into  the  full  blast  of  the  hurricane  and  the  drenching  rain, 
sometimes  sinking  beside  a  broken  hillock  to  draw  a  few 
breaths  with  some  regularity ;  and  it  soughed  with  angry, 
wailing  sobs  about  the  coastguard's  cottage,  where  Mary 
Ludgven,  his  wife,  sat  at  the  uncurtained,  rain-washed 

26 


A  SPANISH  MAID  27 

window,  pale  and  heavy-lidded  with  anxiety,  and  strained 
her  eyes  through  the  lattice  into  the  wild  darkness 
outside,  rocking  the  cradle  with  her  foot  the  while ;  the 
slow,  rhythmic  movement  belying  the  quick  throbs  of  her 
troubled  heart;  for,  in  this  bare  end  of  the  land,  men  had 
been  hurled  down  from  the  cliff  to  the  sea  by  the  power 
of  gentler  storms  than  this. 

Peter  Ludgven's  wife  was  a  calm,  brave  woman,  but 
to  watch  and  wait  inactive  comes  near  to  heroism  when 
there  is  love  in  the  heart.  As  the  night  wore  on  it 
seemed  to  her  ears  that,  above  the  shriek  of  the  wind,  she 
could  hear  shrieks  of  human  voices,  rising  in  wild  calls 
or  wailing  in  dire  need.  A  great  fear  rose  swelling  in 
her  throat  and  drained  the  blood  from  her  lips,  and 
again  and  again  she  left  the  cradle-side  and  went  to  the 
door.  And  then  the  sudden  blast  which  met  her  would 
make  her  stagger  with  its  strength,  and  pulHng  the  door 
close  behind  her,  she  would  stand,  all  trembling  with 
anxiousness,  outside  upon  the  doorstone. 

If  the  fibres  of  the  ears  could  break  with  the  tension 
of  listening  Mary  Ludgven  would  have  been  a  deaf 
woman  from  that  night.  Hearing  was  a  treacherous 
sense  in  such  a  hurricane,  but  she  stood  and  battled 
with  the  gale  and  with  her  own  agony  of  mind,  and  the 
rain  beat  down  and  drenched  her.  At  length  came  a 
lull,    and,   in   spite   of  straining   ears,   she   could   hear 


28  A    SPANTSH   MAID 

nothing  of  the  voices  which  had  drawn  her  from  her 
small  son's  side  in  the  face  of  Peter's  wishes,  and  she 
went  back  to  the  warm  kitchen  and  again  sat  by  the 
uncurtained  window  with  eyes  turned  to  the  storm,  and 
with  white  face  and  gripped  hands  endured  the  pain  of 
waiting. 

But  the  night  hours  wore  away  at  last,  and  with  the 
dawn  the  shrieks  of  the  wind  grew  fainter,  dying  into 
sobs,  first  passionate,  then  quite  gentle.  The  morning 
light  showed  a  grey  and  sullen  sky ;  the  sea  was  grey 
and  sullen,  too,  dashing  high  and  foamy  up  the  straight, 
dark  cliffs.  But  across  the  storm  -  clouds  in  the 
east  there  broke  a  bar  of  wonderful  metal  -  bright 
glory.  The  air  was  fresh,  and  smelling  sweet  of  sodden 
turf  and  rain-drenched  thyme ;  the  garden  paths  were 
strewn  with  torn  leaves  and  broken  twigs ;  the  summer 
greenery,  which  had  withstood  the  storm's  buffetings, 
hung  all  wet  and  shining  from  the  rain ;  and  the  little 
pink  monthly  roses  over  the  porch  were  storm-faint,  and 
washed,  and  drooping,  when  Peter  Ludgven,  drenched 
to  the  skin,  and  ruddy  with  the  rough  treatment  of  the 
gale,  came  safely  home  to  his  wife. 

"You  never  ought  to  a-married  me,  Peter,"  she  said, 
quietly,  with  a  beautiful,  glad  light  in  her  eyes.  "  I'm 
too  fearsome  for  a  coastguard's  wife." 

"  I  couldn't  help  it,    Mary  Ludgven,"  he   protested. 


A  SPANISH  MATD  29 

laughing,  as  he  took  her,  baby  and  all,  into  his  strong 
arms,  "  an'  now  'tis  too  late." 

'"Twas  a  most  terrible  night,  Peter,"  she  half- 
whispered,  her  head  resting  against  his  shoulder.  "  We 
haven't  had  nothin'  like  it  since  we  was  married.  An' 
I  sat  there  by  the  window  most  all  the  time,  waitin'  for 
the  mornin's  light  to  come,  an'  all  afraid  what  'twould 
show   when   'twas   here.      I    b'leeve  if  anythin'  had   a- 

happened — oh,  my  dear,  my  dear "  she  broke  off  in 

little  sobbing  laughs. 

"Come,  Mary,  'tisn'  so  bad  as  all  that  my  dear. 
Here'm  I  come  back  to  'ee  all  safe  an'  sound.  'Tis 
you'm  most  like  to  be  leavin'  me  to  live  a  widder- 
man,  I'm  thinkin',"  he  declared  cheerily.  "  You'm  weak 
with  watchin'.  Now  I'll  be  off  to  slip  out  of  my  wet 
things,  an'  then  I'm  ready  for  what's  smellin'  so  good 
over  there  on  the  peats." 

Mary  Ludgven  frowned  a  quick,  smiling  frown  of 
self-condemnation  as  she  moved  from  Peter's  arms 
and  seated  the  baby  in  his  cradle. 

"  Here'm  I  crakin'  an'  cryin'  when  you'm  starvin' 
with  cold  an'  hunger,"  she  exclaimed.  "But  I  didn't 
forget  'ee  so  bad  as  all  that  \  breakfast  will  be  ready 
by  time  you'm  in  your  dry  things." 

In  the  comfort  of  the  breaking  sunlight,  and  the  food, 
and  cheerful  kitchen,  together  with  the  sight  of  Peter 


30  A    SPANISH   MAID 

at  the  other  end  of  the  table,  and  the  baby  contentedly 
chewing  his  fists  in  the  cradle,  Mary  Ludgven  forgot 
some  of  the  suspense  of  the  night  hours,  and  ate  and 
smiled  till  a  flush  of  colour  came  back  to  her  cheeks, 
and  her  hands  ceased  from  trembling. 

"You  must  take  a  rest,  now,  Mary,"  urged  Peter, 
as  he  followed  her  up  the  steep,  wooden  stairs  with 
his  son,  Zel — short  for  Ezekiel — in  his  arms. 

"Rest!"  she  laughed,  "with  that  flaygerrying  child 
calling  out  to  be  washed  an'  dressed  ! "  And  she  caught 
him  from  his  father's  hold,  and  tossed  him  till  he 
crowed  and  chuckled  in  as  thorough  a  manner  as  his 
pleasure  and  his  breath  would  allow. 

"You'll  be  dyin'  with  sleep  before  long,"  he  pro- 
tested. 

"  No ;  cold  water's  best  for  me  now.  I  couldn't 
keep  still  if  I  was  paid  to." 

And  when  her  face  was  all  wet  and  rosy  with  the 
cold  spring  water,  and  the  drops  hung  on  her  fair, 
silken  hair,  Peter  kissed  her  laughingly,  for  she  re- 
minded him,  he  said,  of  the  hedges  and  gardens  when 
the  storm  was  safe  over.  And  then  she  left  him  to 
the  sleep  he  had  earned,  and  went  downstairs  to  her 
daily  work. 

As  she  moved  about  her  stone -flagged  kitchen, 
singing   softly   to   the  small   son  who  sat  in  his  cradle 


A   SPANTSH  MAID  3 1 

and  ignored  everything  but  the  string  of  empty  cotton 
reels  which  he  strove  to  wind  about  his  own  pink 
toes,  a  hand  gently  lifted  the  latch  and  the  door 
opened. 

"  Hist !  Mary,"  came  a  whisper,  "  Peter  back  all 
right?" 

Mary  looked  up  from  her  big  brown  basin  of  flour, 
and  saw  'Zekiel — her  brother — at  the  open  door-latch, 
with  a  look  of  quick  enquiry  on  his  handsome,  boyish 
face. 

"Yes,  Peter's  back,  safe  and  sound,  thanks  be. 
Come  in,  'Zekiel,  an'  shut  the  door ;  you  mustn'  keep 
the  boy  in  that  draught." 

"  'Twas  a  night ! "  remarked  'Zekiel,  as  he  did  as  he 
was  bidden  and  crossed  over  to  the  open  hearth, 
heaving  that  sigh  of  admiration  paid  to  excessive  fury 
by  the  simple-minded.  "  I  was  just  goin'  down  to 
the  beach  to  see  if  there's  anythin'  to  be  seen ;  'tisn' 
likely  nothin's  the  worse  for  such  a  gale  as  that.  I 
thought  I'd  just  look  fore  to  see  if  Peter  had  a-got 
back." 

"  He's  up  restin'  now  a  bit.  He's  had  a  tryin'  time, 
lately.  People  hereabouts  ain't  so  clean-handed  as 
they'd  have  folks  believe ;  and  'tisn'  no  child's-play  coast- 
guardin',  I  can  tell  that  much." 

"No,  that's  truth,"  agreed  'Zekiel,  as  he  leaned  over 


32  A    SPANISH    MAID 

the  cradle  and  pinched  his  nephew's  pink  toes  with 
his  own  brown  fingers.  "  Well,  I'll  be  off,"  he  said 
at  length,  as  Mary  freed  her  hands  of  flour,  and 
turned  to  stir  the  peats.  "But,  if  Peter's  restin',  you 
might  so  well  come  along  with  me  an'  have  a  look 
at  the  sea;  'tis  grand  now,  sure  enough,  an'  the  air 
is  mild  as  milk." 

Mary  glanced  slowly  from  the  clock  in  the  corner 
to  the  sunlight  on  the  garden.  "  I  don't  mind  if  I 
do,"  she  said.  "  I  don't  feel  like  sleepin'  at  all.  You 
mind  Zel  while  I  put  the  bread  to  rise,  an'  then 
I'll  come." 

To  the  high  point  of  the  sloping  cliff  they  mounted 
and  stood  on  the  wet,  green  turf  to  watch  the  spumy 
waters  beneath  as  they  seethed  and  dashed  over  the  face 
of  the  rocks ;  and  the  sun  brightened  everything  with 
his  great  morning  smile,  as  if  he  delighted  to  look 
merrily  upon  another's  fury.  After  watching  the  waters 
for  some  minutes,  'Zekiel  left  his  sister's  side  and  strolled 
along  close  to  the  edge  of  the  cliff;  while  she,  resting 
after  the  quick  walk  from  the  cottage,  looked  away 
over  the  sea;  and  then,  forgetting  the  grandeur  of  it 
all,  looked  back  again  at  the  white  stones  marking 
the  coastguard's  uneven  cliff  path,  and  thought  of 
Peter. 

Mary  Ludgven  had  been  born  and  bred  in  Lande- 


A   SPANISH  MAID 


33 


carrock,  had  followed  its  manners  and  abided  by  its 
fashions,  and  birth  and  breeding,  manner  and  fashion, 
had  done  well  for  her,  for  she  was  a  beautiful  woman. 
A  veritable  Madonna  she  looked,  standing  there  with 
the  wild,  torn  sky  above  her,  the  roaring  water  below, 
and  the  morning  sun  and  the  morning  mist  making 
almost  a  halo  about  her — a  peaceful  figure  in  the  midst 
of  the  signs  of  past  tumult.  A  large,  fair  woman  with  a 
grave,  contented  face,  her  golden  hair  parted  over  her 
broad,  white  forehead,  her  smooth  cheeks  slightly  pale 
from  the  anxious  night-watch^  but  with  a  faint  colour 
creeping  back  to  them ;  her  eyes  as  wells  of  colour, 
deep  and  tranquil.  The  gown  she  wore  was  of  dark 
blue  woollen  stuff,  and  knotted  about  her  shoulders  was 
a  loose  black  kerchief,  leaving  her  white  throat  bare; 
and  in  her  arms  she  held  her  little  son. 

Presently,  back  over  the  short,  sodden  turf  came 
'Zekiel,  hurrying  towards  her,  calling  to  her  as  he  came 
and  pointing  out  to  sea.  Her  eyes  followed  the 
direction  of  his  hand,  and  then  she  saw,  looming 
through  the  sunny  mist,  a  large,  dark,  square-rigged 
ship,  and  she  shivered,  as  with  an  ague,  as  her  eyes  fell 
upon  it. 

"A  queer-lookin'  craft,"  panted  'Zekiel,  as  he  reached 
her  side.  "  I  don't  know  as  ever  I  saw  such  a  riggin' 
before." 

0 


34  A    SPANISH   MAID 

They  stood  and  watched  the  dark  ship,  and  a 
strange  unreality  in  the  sight  seemed  to  rob  them  of 
words.  The  high,  dark  bows  and  oddly-shaped  sails  had 
loomed  so  suddenly  through  the  mist,  and  were  coming 
so  perilously  near  the  rocks ;  yet  the  vessel  was  neither 
wrecked  nor  drifting,  and  no  signal  for  aid  or  information 
came  from  her  crew. 

"  Look,  look ! "  cried  Mary,  suddenly,  in  a  harsh 
whisper.  And  'Zekiel  looked,  and  again  they  stood 
there  silent,  their  eyes  riveted  on  the  ship  below. 

What  they  saw  was  quickly  over  and  past,  but  the 
strangeness  and  cowardice  of  it  seemed  to  scorch  deep 
into  their  brains,  as  if  they  had  been  looking  on  at  the 
scene  for  hours  in  wonder  and  growing  rage. 

The  tall,  gloomy  ship  drew  nearer  and  nearer,  until, 
as  Mary  and  'Zekiel  looked  down  on  her,  she  seemed 
to  be  almost  underneath  the  cliff  on  which  they  stood, 
and  they  saw  that  about  her  deck  moved  a  ghastly-faced 
crew,  busy  casting  anchor  and  lowering  a  boat.  When 
this  was  done  a  slight  scarlet  figure  was  dragged, 
struggling  and  shrieking,  upon  the  deck,  fighting  and 
beating  with  clenched  hands  till  held  and  pinioned  by 
the  sailors  who  lifted  it,  still  struggling  and  shrieking, 
over  the  vessel's  side,  and  lowered  it  to  the  boat  which 
lay  tossing  on  the  yet  angry  sea.  Several  other  figures, 
clambering  down  swiftly  to  the  boat  loosed  the  rope  and 


A   SPANISH  MAID  35 

began  to  pull  straight  towards  a  little  spit  of  sand  to 
the  left  of  the  cliff  on  which  the  watchers  stood. 

There  was  something  of  anger  and  of  horror  in  the 
eyes  and  hearts  of  Mary  and  'Zekiel  as  they  watched  the 
boat's  course,  and  saw  the  scarlet  figure  held  writhing  in 
the  arms  of  the  sailors. 

"  Is  it  a  mazed  woman  they'm  bringin'  ashore  ? " 
gasped  'Zekiel,  in  a  hoarse,  strained  voice. 

But  when  the  boat  grated  on  the  line  of  shingly  beach 
the  rowers  made  no  attempt  to  land  and  seek  aid  from 
the  village  in  their  need,  whatever  it  might  be.  Lifting 
the  fighting,  furious  figure  with  some  rough  handling, 
they  flung  it  from  them  on  to  the  beach  as  one  would 
fling  a  bale  of  wool,  and  above  the  roar  of  the  breakers 
came  the  wild  shrieks  again  and  again,  as  the  creature 
sprang  up  and  clung  to  them,  clutching  and  tearing  in 
its  fury.  But  again  they  flung  it  back  with  cruel,  white 
hands,  and,  pushing  the  boat  off  from  the  beach  in 
haste,  rowed  quickly  back  towards  the  ship. 

The  cruelty  and  cowardice  of  the  end  of  this  scene  sent 
the  blood  seething  hot  and  quick  in  'Zekiel's  veins,  and 
he  tore  along  the  cliff  till  he  reached  the  narrow  foot- 
path leading  to  the  beach  below  and  clambered  down 
it  recklessly.  But  he  reached  it  too  late  to  lay  hands 
upon  the  boat's  crew,  for  the  whole  scene  had  taken 
but  a    few    moments    in    the    acting,   and    a    stretch 


36  A    SPANISH   MAW 

of    foamy     breakers    already    lay    between    boat    and 
shore. 

There,  on  the  sand,  however,  face  downwards,  lay 
the  scarlet  form,  crying  aloud,  and  clutching  and  tear- 
ing at  the  sand  and  shingle  in  a  passion  of  baffled 
fury. 

'Zekiel's  heart  was  full  and  his  fists  eager  against  the 
brutes  whose  savage  work  he  had  watched,  and  within 
him  welled  a  great  sympathy  toward  the  castaway. 
Hurrying  to  it  in  its  grief,  he  knelt  upon  the  shingle  and 
raised  it  in  his  arms. 

"Don't  'ee,  don't  'ee,  my  dear,"  he  began  in 
passionate  consolation.  And  then  his  voice  died,  and 
words  would  not  come ;  he  sat  back  on  his  heels  and 
his  arms  trembled  round  about  their  burden,  but  he 
neither  rose  nor  loosened  his  clasp. 

She  was  so  wonderful,  this  creature  which  he  held  in 
the  hollow  of  his  arms.  She  was  so  beautiful  with  a 
beauty  he  had  never  dreamed  of.  Her  eyes,  with  the 
fury  still  blazing  in  them,  looked  back  into  his  eyes ;  her 
long,  black  hair  fell  back  from  her  face  and  his  fingers 
were  wound  in  its  meshes ;  her  red  lips  were  parted  in 
the  end  of  rage  and  the  beginning  of  wonder,  and  one 
warm,  brown  arm  lay  against  his  trembling  hand. 

For  many  minutes  he  knelt  there,  and  the  roar  of 
the  breakers  was  in  his  ears,  booming  and  thundering. 


A   SPANISH  MAID  37 

Half-consciously  he  longed  for  the  roar  to  cease ;  it 
was  surging  in  his  head  and  deafening  him ;  the  volume 
of  sound  was  swelling  and  crashing  maddeningly. 
For  a  moment  the  beach  on  which  he  knelt  seemed 
to  rise  and  sway,  and  a  thin  mist  floated  between  his 
eyes  and  the  eyes  which  flashed  back  at  him.  And 
then  it  seemed  that  the  silence  he  had  longed  for  had 
come.  A  great  pause  seemed  to  have  fallen  on  every- 
thing. He  heard  nothing;  an  absolute  peace  seemed 
to  surround  him,  and  he  knelt  there  as  if  spellbound, 
looking  down  on  the  wonderful  face  of  the  stranger-girl 
who  lay  in  his  arms.  And,  as  he  looked,  his  boyish 
face  changed;  the  youngness  and  the  brightness  of 
it  seemed  to  pass  from  his  to  hers,  and  as  her 
angry  eyes  softened  and  smiled  up  at  him  with  a 
languorous  pleasure,  his  eyes  grew  hard  and  eager. 

The  sudden  shriek  of  a  lonely  sea-bird  roused  him 
at  length ;  he  started,  and  the  roar  and  thunder  of 
the  sea  came  back  to  his  ears.  Then  the  stranger-girl 
lowered  her  dark-fringed  lids  slowly  over  her  smiling 
eyes,  and,  drawing  his  gaze  from  her  face,  'Zekiel 
remembered  her  wrongs  and  looked  out  over  the 
waves.  But  the  evil  ship  which  he  had  thought  to 
see  was  invisible;  between  his  eyes  and  it  there  had 
dropped  a  thick,  white  curtain  of  mist.  Ship,  and  boat, 
and    crew    had    vanished    utterly,   and    as    far    as    eye 


38  A    SPANISH    MAID 

could   see,  the   waves  and  the   land  were  lonely,  and 
dim,  and  desolate. 

Mary  Ludgven,  watching  and  waiting  on  the  cliff 
above,  saw  at  last  two  figures  coming  slowly  up  the 
cliff  path  towards  her,  a  boy  half-leading,  half-supporting 
a  girl — 'Zekiel  and  the  castaway.  And  even  as  she 
watched,  all  eager  to  help  and  comfort  the  sufferer, 
her  eyes  noted  suddenly  that  the  boy's  face  had 
changed,  had  grown  older;  the  roundness  was  gone, 
and  the  young,  careless  glance  from  the  eyes ;  and, 
with  a  curious  shock  of  wonder,  she  realised  that 
'Zekiel  was  no  longer  her  boy-brother.  But  the  eyes 
of  the  girl  at  his  side  were  glowing  with  ardent 
youth. 

"  What  is  it,  'Zekiel  ?  What  does  it  all  mean  ?  "  she 
cried  as  she  went  towards  them. 

"  Devilment ! "  said  'Zekiel  slowly,  with  his  eyes  still 
resting  on  the  girl's  beauty. 

"Are  you  hurted?"  asked  Mary  of  the  stranger. 
But  the  stranger  only  smiled  sadly  and  slowly  shook 
her  head. 

"Bring  her  along  home,  'Zekiel;  she's  bruised  and 
shaken.  I  can't  make  out  such  doin's.  Come  home 
an'  let  us  tell  Peter  'bout  it  all." 

And  turning  their  faces  from  the  shrouded  sea 
they  went  down  the  hill  in  silence. 


A  SPANISH  MAID  39 

"What  outlandish  bem'  have  'ee  got  there,  Mary 
Ludgven  ?  " 

Over  the  low  cob  wall  which  separated  Betty 
Higgins's  back  garden  from  the  path,  leaned  Ann 
Vitty,  Betty's  grandmother,  gossiping  with  her  favoured 
cronieS;  Luke  Tregay  and  Daniel  Laskey,  who  leaned 
against  the  outer  side  and  slanted  towards  her  from 
their  sticks,  as  loosely-staked  heliotropes  towards  their 
sun.  This  cob  wall  was  Ann  Vitty's  saloft,  where 
she  and  Luke  Tregay  met  to  talk  over  old  times  and 
new  manners,  and  hailed  the  passers-by  with  cheery 
garrulity,  enduring  the  proofs  of  their  degeneration 
from  the  former  state  of  things  for  the  sake  of  their 
tidings  of  the  latter.  Here,  too,  mild-eyed  Daniel 
Laskey,  sexton,  joined  them,  and  added  to  the 
pleasantness  of  the  meeting  by  his  intelligent  silence. 

It  was  Ann  Vitty's  thin,  sharp  voice  which  greeted 
Mary  as  she  neared  the  corner  by  the  big  fuchsia 
bush. 

"Well,  'tis  'Zekiel's  jetsam,"  answered  Mary,  trying 
to  smile  back  at  the  three  old  faces. 

"  Jetsam  ! "  cried  Luke  Tregay ;  "  queer  jetsam 
that!  What  be  'ee  goin'  to  do  with  it  now  you've 
a-got  it?" 

"I  dunno  what  to  do,"  confessed  Mary.  "We 
dunno  yet  who  the  maid  is,  or  where  she  comes  from. 


40  A    SPANISH   MAW 

but  we'm  goin'  to  take  her  home  an'  tell  Peter.  He'll 
know  what's  best  to  be  done." 

"  Take  her  home ! "  repeated  Ann  Vitty,  looking 
the  stranger  up  and  down  with  a  dubious  glance  as 
she  passed  on  slowly,  leaning  on  'Zekiel's  arm.  "'Tisn' 
no  business  of  mine,  for  sure,  but,  if  you  ask  me,  I 
should  say  '  Don't  'ee.'  As  a  figger-head,  now,  she 
wouldn'  come  amiss,  but  as  comp'ny  in  your  own 
house,  I  say,  I  wouldn'  if  I  was  you." 

"  Wreckage  of  that  sort  never  did  nobody  no  good," 
remarked  Luke  Tregay,  "  not  to  my  knowledge." 

"But  life's  life,  Luke,"  protested  Mary,  with  rather 
a  wan  smile. 

"  Maybe,  maybe,"  he  allowed,  with  some  hesitation, 
*'  but  sometimes  we'd  be  as  well  pleased  if  'twasn'." 

"  I  didn'  know  there  was  wrecks,"  remarked  Ann 
Vitty.     "We  never  heard  no  tidin's  of  'em." 

"  No,  'tisn'  no  wreck,"  Mary  explained ;  "  'tis  a 
sort  of  castaway  matter,  I'm  thinkin';  only  me  an' 
'Zekiel  saw  it.  But  I  must  be  hurryin'  on,  for  'twas 
a  wicked  deed,  sure  enough,  and  the  maid  mus'n' 
lack  a  welcome." 

"  H'm,"  ejaculated  Daniel  Laskey,  looking  con- 
templatively at  the  dandelion  root  he  had  been  boring 
with  his  stick ;  but  Ann  Vitty  and  Luke  Tregay 
clothed   their   forebodings    in   more   forcible   language 


A   SPAmSH  MAID  41 

as  they  watched  the  three  figures  along  the  path  and 
up  the  Httle  hill  to  the  coastguard's  cottage. 

The  comments  of  Ann  Vitty  and  Luke  Tregay 
roused  Mary  Ludgven  to  a  realisation  of  the  coldness 
and  scant  welcome  which  lay  in  her  own  heart,  and 
she  tried  to  say  some  kindly  and  comforting  words 
now  and  again  to  the  shivering  girl  as  they  walked 
back  to  the  little  whitewashed  home  on  the  side  of 
the  hill,  but  all  the  while  her  heart  was  heavy  with 
an  unaccountable  fear  as  she  glanced  from  the  stranger 
to  'Zekiel,  and  saw  his  flushed  cheeks  and  set  lips ; 
and  she  shrank  with  an  unreasoning  presentiment  of 
ill  from  the  vivid,  alluring  face  of  the  girl  who  leaned 
so  closely  upon  the  boy's  protecting  arm. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

TT  was  when  'Zekiel  had  placed  his  wonderful  living 
■'-  jetsam  in  Peter's  roomy  chair  before  the  blazing 
peats  that  he  first  realised  the  barrier  which  rose 
between  himself  and  her.  Taking  the  bright  shawl 
from  her  shoulders,  all  damp  with  sea-water,  he 
pleaded,  in  a  voice  which  fell  strange  on  Mary's  ears, 
"Tell  us  of  the  brutes  who  served  'ee  so." 

But  the  girl,  smiling  back  at  him,  opened  her  lips 
for  the  first  time  since  he  had  raised  her  from  the 
sand,  and  spoke  in  quick,  tripping  syllables  which 
were  to  him  as  strange  and  incomprehensible  as  the 
notes  of  some  foreign  bird;  carrying  no  meaning  to 
him,  but  the  one  hard  fact  that  between  him  and 
her  stood  an  unscaleable  barrier  —  the  barrier  of  an 
unknown  tongue.  He  stood  dumb  before  the  bitter 
irrevocableness  of  it,  with  pain  and  a  sharp  hopeless- 
ness weighing  at  the  corners  of  his  lips.  This  sudden 
limitation   of  his   joy  seemed  unjust  and  unendurable. 

42 


A   SPANISH  MAW  43 

A  sense  of  impotence  and  a  new  half-realised  misery 
swelled  in  his  heart  and  robbed  him  of  words.  But 
the  girl,  laying  her  hand  on  his  arm,  smiled  again 
into  his  eyes  with  a  smile  which  seemed  to  need 
no  words,  and  some  of  the  bitterness  of  circumstance 
melted  for  a  while. 

And  Mary,  bringing  warm  food  and  heaping  the 
peat  upon  the  hearth,  felt  as  if  the  whole  scene  must 
be  a  dream  from  which  she  would  suddenly  awake — 
but  a  long,  long  dream  which  had  been  with  her  for 
dull,  weary  hours  ;  and  when  she  strove  to  rouse  her- 
self and  think  of  the  old,  ordinary  life,  or  of  the 
stormy  night  and  the  relief  of  the  morning,  it  seemed 
to  her  that  those  things  had  happened  years  ago,  and 
had  become  dim  and  faded  in  her  mind.  A  dogged 
war  was  being  fought  out  in  her  heart — reason  against 
instinct,  humanity  wrestling  with  revulsion — and  she 
forced  her  hands  towards  hospitality  that  they  might 
not  take  the  stranger  and  thrust  her  out  from  her 
doorway  and  from  the  sight  of  the  eager  boy  at  her 
side.  But  the  stranger  knew  nothing  of  this  war, 
or  made  no  sign  of  the  knowledge,  as  she  sat  in  the 
glow  of  the  peats,  drinking  hot  broth  and  shedding 
soft  glances  on  Mary,  and  'Zekiel,  and  little  Zel,  with 
a  fine  impartiality. 

When   Peter   came   down   the   stairs,    cheerful    from 


44  A    SPANISH   MAID 

his  sleep,  and  damp-haired  and  glowing  from  his 
sousing  in  cold  water,  he  stood  at  the  foot  in  wonder- 
ment at  the  unexpected  scene  before  him,  and 
looked  at  his  wife  with  questions  in  his  eyes.  Step- 
ping quickly  towards  him,  Mary,  in  low  and  pitiful 
tones,  told  of  what  had  happened ;  dwelling  on  the 
cruelty  of  the  sailors  and  the  helpless  plight  of  the 
castaway  with  a  warmth  and  eagerness  unusual  to  her 
quiet  tongue,  as  if  by  convincing  others  of  the  girl's 
wrongs  and  necessity  she  might  touch  the  core  of 
her  own  humanity.  And  the  girl  herself,  seeming  to 
divine  the  meaning  of  the  words,  laid  down  her  spoon, 
and  with  one  hand  resting  lightly  on  'Zekiel's  arm 
to  stay  his  generosity,  looked  up  at  the  coastguard 
with  a  mingling  of  pleading  and  confidence  in  her  big 
eyes. 

For  some  moments  Peter  stood  looking  back  at  her 
in  silence,  while  Mary  glanced  from  one  to  the  other 
with  a  strange  unrest  at  her  heart;  then  he  went  over 
to  the  girl,  and,  taking  her  brown  little  hand  in  both 
his  own,  said  slowly:  "You'm  welcome." 

For  reply  the  stranger  only  looked  up  at  him 
pathetically  and  shook  her  head.  And  'Zekiel  finished 
the  tale  which  Mary  had  begun,  telling  of  that  which, 
to  him,  seemed  the  saddest  part  of  all — the  bafifling, 
incomprehensible  language. 


A   SPANISH  MAW  45 

Again  Peter  looked  at  the  girl,  this  time  in  rueful 
silence,  running  his  fingers  through  his  damp  curls 
in  the  stress  of  his  perplexity ;  but  his  was  never  a 
desponding  nature,  and  in  time  his  courage  brought 
him  some  inspiration.  Standing  before  her,  drawn 
to  his  full  height,  and  with  an  eagerness  on  his  face 
which  commanded  her  whole  attention,  he  looked 
about  for  some  object  on  which  to  begin  his  plan ; 
finally,  pointing  to  his  wife,  he  pronounced  in  two  broad, 
distinct  syllables  her  name,  "  Ma — ry."  Again  and 
again  he  said  it,  and  after  a  while  a  quick  compre- 
hension leaped  to  the  girl's  eyes,  and  laughingly  she 
repeated,  with  a  short,  babyish  accent,  "  Ma — ri. 
Ma — ri,  Ma— ri."  Peter  chuckled  with  satisfaction 
and  persevered,  for  this  was  a  brave  beginning.  With 
a  slow,  waving  forefinger,  and  a  solemn  nod  of  his 
head  at  each  syllable,  he  pointed  to  his  brother-in-law, 
and  pronounced  '"Zekiel."  And  now  the  girl  smiled 
broadly,  and  his  second  success  was  equal  to  his  first. 
Then,  with  his  big  hand  flat  upon  his  own  blue 
jersey,  he  gave  her,  "Pe — ter,"  with  slow  distinctness, 
and  she  echoed  the  name  without  a  hesitating  letter; 
while  Mary  and  'Zekiel  marvelled  at  the  brilliance  of 
the  mind  which  could  conceive  such  a  notion,  and 
felt  many  degrees  more  comfortable. 

When   Peter  had    finished   this,   his   first    lesson    in 


46  A    SPANISH    MAID 

the  intricacies  of  his  mother-tongue,  the  stranger-girl 
rose  from  her  chair,  and  smiHng  trustfully  upon  them 
all,  tapped  her  own  breast  lightly  with  the  broth 
spoon.  "Teresa,  Teresa,  Te — re — sa,"  she  said, 
turning  from  one  to  the  other.  And  they  repeated 
"Te — re — sa,"  with  slow,  clumsy  tongues,  till,  appar- 
ently satisfied,  she  sank  back  into  her  chair  with  a 
pleased  sigh  and  yielded  her  attention  once  more  to 
her  broth  and  to  'Zekiel's  importunity. 

For  a  while  longer  Peter  looked  at  her,  with  his  whole 
brain  twisted  to  the  shape  of  questions  which  could 
bring  no  answers ;  then  he  crossed  to  the  window  and 
looked  thoughtfully  out  over  the  geraniums  on  the 
ledge  to  the  storm-battered  garden  beyond.  His 
heart  was  big  enough  to  welcome  half-a-hundred  cast- 
aways into  his  home  and  give  them  pity  for  their 
hard  lot,  but  it  was  the  right  and  the  wrong  of 
the  matter  which  began  to  trouble  him. 

"She'd  fret  herself  mazed,"  he  decided  mournfully. 
"  Cast  out  'pon  a  strange  spot,  took  to  a  strange  house, 
and  kept  by  a  lot  of  strange  folk ;  with'  no  manner  of 
means  of  goin'  back  home  again !  An'  how  can  I  set 
about  her  goin'  back  home  again,  when  I  don't  so  much 
as  know  her  ABC?  Law ! "  he  declared  awesomely, 
"  Babel  would  have  drove  me  mazed  in  no  time." 

Up  the  hill  path  towards  the  cottage  two  figures  were 


A   SPANISH  MAID  47 

moving,  an  old  man  and  a  little  girl,  sauntering  as  folks 
will  saunter  in  those  parts  of  the  land  where  timepieces  are 
mainly  kept  for  ornament,  and  the  winding  of  them  is 
considered  as  encouraging  a  reckless  waste  of  mechanism. 
The  old  man  had  somewhat  the  look  of  an  ascetic 
Romish  priest,  slender  bodied  and  clean-shaven  of 
face ;  but  the  old  grey  waterproof  coat  which  he  wore 
loose,  its  long  skirts  waving  in  the  breeze,  made  a  most 
unpriestlike  garment,  and  the  mild  eyes  and  placid  lines 
about  the  mouth  pointed  to  a  less  severe  creed  than 
that  of  Rome.  With  one  hand  he  now  and  again 
Hfted  his  broad-brimmed  hat  from  his  brow,  as  if  for 
ease  and  the  play  of  the  breeze ;  in  the  other  hand  he 
carried  a  little  tin  box.  The  child  at  his  side  was  fair- 
faced  and  demure,  and  wore  a  cloak  of  grey  duffel, 
hooded  round  her  small  grave  features. 

A  particularly  prolonged  wave  of  the  grey  coat  skirts 
caught  Peter's  wide  abstracted  gaze,  and  brought  it 
back  to  a  nearer  focus,  and,  with  the  quickness  of  the 
man  who  knows  the  value  of  tide  turns,  he  hurried  out  of 
the  door  and  along  the  garden  path  to  meet  the  wearer. 

"  Passon,  sir,"  he  appealed,  "  will  'ee  be  so  good  as  to 
come  'fore  to  my  house.  I'm  put  about  a  brave  bit 
over  a  matter  of — of — ^jetsam." 

The  old  man  smiled,  a  mild,  slow  smile,  as  he  turned 
in  at  the  gate, 


48  A    SPANISH   MAID 

"  Coastguarding  brings  its  troubles  to  you,  it  seems,  as 
well  as  to  your  natural  enemies,  the  villains,"  he  re- 
marked.    "  Ursula,  my  dear,  better  follow  me." 

As  he  came  in  at  the  doorway  the  parson  lifted  his 
broad,  soft  hat. 

'  Good-day,  Mary — I  may  still  call  her  Mary,  Peter  ? 

Good-day,   'Zekiel.     Ah  ! "  With  the  intuition  of  the 

man  who  has  lived  among  wrecks  and  finds  no  cargo 
surprising,  his  eyes  fell  on  Teresa.  "  The  wreckage, 
Peter?"  he  queried.  Then,  bowing  to  the  stranger 
with  a  certain  courtHness,  "  Good-day,  madam,"  he  said. 

"  Passon,"  declared  Peter,  "  that's  what  I  wanted  to 
tell  'ee  about.  Her  don't  know  what  you'm  saying. 
Her  can't  make  'ee  out.  Her  can't  make  none  of  us 
out  when  we  talks  to  her.     Her's  foreign,  sir." 

"  Ah  !  indeed,  indeed.  Poor  maid  !  poor  maid  !  But 
I  have  heard  nothing  of  a  wreck ;  no  sound  awoke  me, 
no  word  reached  me." 

Teresa  gave  her  empty  basin  and  spoon  into  'Zekiel's 
hands,  and  resting  her  dark  head  on  the  cushions 
of  Peter's  chair,  looked  up  with  smiling  interest  at  the 
parson's  mouth  as  he  shaped  his  words. 

"No,  sir,  there  wasn'  no  wreck,"  said  Peter.  "'Zekiel 
can  tell  'ee  the  story  best,  for  'Zekiel  was  there  to  see  it. 
To  my  mind  it's  a  black  bit  of  business." 

"  I   can    tell    'ee   what    I    seed,    sir,"   cried    'Zekiel, 


A   SPANISH  MAW  49 

turning   to  the  parson,  "but  I  can't  tell  'ee  why  'twas 
done." 

His  hands  clenched  themselves  unconsciously  as  he 
recalled  the  work  of  the  morning.  Ursula  stepped 
softly  to  the  cradle  side,  where  Zel — left  for  the  first 
time  without  an  audience — was  keeping  up  a  continuous 
murmur  of  soft,  sleepy  protests.  Teresa  turned  her 
eyes  from  the  parson's  mouth  to  'Zekiel's,  and  all  waited 
for  the  "  black  "  story. 

"I  was  standing  on  the  chff,"  he  went  on,  "looking 
out  towards  the  Dinnis  Rock.  There  was  a  bit  of 
mornin'  mist  about,  but,  as  far  as  eye  could  see,  there 
wasn'  a  sail,  or  a  mast,  or  an  oar  above  water.  Then, 
all  to  once,  through  the  mist,  there  showed  out  a  big, 
ugly-looking  black  ship ;  an'  so  curious-looking  she  was 
I  called  out  to  Mary,  an'  we  watched  her  together." 

The  parson  laid  his  little  tin  box  on  the  table  and 
crossed  one  forefinger  on  the  other  as  he  listened. 
Ursula  had  sunk  on  her  knees  by  the  cradle,  and  was 
rocking  it  gently  as  she  smoothed  Zel  Ludgven's  fat 
arm,  he  having  merged  his  protests  into  dream-coos. 
The  others  looked  at  'Zekiel's, tense  face  and  waited,  as 
he  paused  before  the  thought  of  the  ship's  ugly  work. 

"Soon,"  he  went  on,  "she  slid  out  of  the  fog  an' 
came  runnin'  in,  closer  than  ever  I've  seed  a  vessel  run 
in  before,  an'  her  crew  cast  anchor  an'  lowered  a  boat. 

D 


5o  A    SPANISH    MAID 

An'  then,  up  from  somewhere  down  below,  they  dragged 
this  poor  maid,  an'  all  cryin',  an'  sobbin',  an'  strugglin' 
as  she  was,  they  hauled  her  down  into  the  boat  an'  held 
her  there,  gripped  as  if  she'd  been  a  wild  thing.  An'  so 
they  pulled  for  Averack  Cove.  An'  when  I'd  a-thought 
they  was  goin'  to  land  an'  ask  help  from  Landecarrock 
for  some  poor  mazed  soul,  they  dragged  her  up  from  the 
bottom  of  the  boat  an'  heaved  her  on  to  the  shingle  as 
if  she'd  a-been  a  log.  An'  when  she  rose  an'  cried  for 
help  an'  mercy  they  beat  her  down  again,  an'  then  they 
pulled  away  from  Averack  beach  with  never  a  word  for 
her,  nor  a  morsel  of  food,  nor  a  penny-piece.  An'  the 
faces  of  'em  was  gashly.  An'  I  ran  down  the  cliff  path 
more  as  if  I  was   flyin',  an'  there   I   found   the  maid, 

an' "  the  anger  slid  out  of  his  voice  suddenly  and 

his   words  slowed  into  an  unconscious,  spoken  caress, 
"  an'  she  wasn'  no  mazed  woman  at  all." 

"  Dear  me !  dear  me ! "  murmured  the  parson 
dreamily.     "These  signs  of  racial " 

"An'  the  ship?"  asked  Peter,  with  sudden  re- 
collection of  his  calling. 

"When  I  looked  up  again,"  said  'Zekiel,  with  a 
certain  shamefacedness  in  his  truth-telling,  "the  fog 
had  a-dropped  to  the  very  breakers,  an'  the  boat  an' 
the  ship  was  gone." 

"  Most  curious!    Most  curious!"  remarked  the  parson. 


A   SPANISH  MAID  51 

"And  tell  me,  Ezekiel,  were  there  no  points  in  the 
vessel's  rigging,  or  in  the  dress  or  bearing  of  the 
crew  by  which  you  could  determine  the  nationality  ?  " 

"No,  sir,  I  didn'  never  seem  to  have  seen  the  like 
before." 

"  It  is  a  curious  and  interesting  study,"  mused  the 
parson  aloud,  as  he  clasped  his  thin  hands  beneath 
his  coat  skirts  and  slowly  paced  the  small  kitchen, 
"the  different  forms,  and  lines,  and  curves  by  which 
the  different  countries  betray  their  several  tastes,  and 
traits,  and  progress  in  civilisation.  The  opulent  East, 
for  instance,  displaying  in  everything,  from  its  archi- 
tecture to  its  most  trivial  manufacture,  those 
curves " 

"Curves!"  interrupted  'Zekiel  hotly,  "they  was 
devils  ! " 

The  parson  started  from  his  musings.  "Devils  are 
not  without  curves,"  he  affirmed,  with  his  mild  smile, 
"  if  all  we  are  told  is  true.  If,"  he  continued,  turning  to 
Teresa,  "  the  maiden  would  speak  again,  I  might  gather 
from  her  accents  some  hint  of  her  nationality,  or  from 
the  formation  of  her  words  some  clue  to  the  race 
from  which  she  springs.  But  I  fear  she  will  not  use 
a  language  with  which  I  am  familiar." 

"Teresa,  Teresa,"  said  Peter,  appealing  to  the  girl, 
"  talk  to  the  parson  some ;  do  'ee  now,  co'." 


52  A    SPANISH    MAID 

"  Madam,"  ventured  the  parson,  "  I  would  ask  you 
to  speak  a  few  words  to  me." 

The  girl  looked  from  one  to  the  other.  Then, 
seeing  that  they  waited  as  for  an  answer  to  a  question, 
she  broke  once  more  into  her  quick,  soft  syllables, 
smiling  the  while,  until  her  long,  black  eyes  were 
almost  closed. 

"Ah,"  sighed  the  parson,  smiling  back  indulgently 
in  the  face  of  it,  "it  is  neither  Greek,  nor  Latin, 
nor  Hebrew;  nor  is  it,  I  conjecture,  of  Teutonic 
origin.  In  all  probability  the  maiden  is  of  Gaelic 
extraction.  It  is  a  curious  and  interesting  fact,"  he 
continued,  turning  his  gentle  eyes  on  Peter,  "that  to 
a  close  student  of  the  races  there  would  be  but  slight 
difficulty  in  classifying  the  nationality  of  ninety  out  of 
a  hundred  human  beings,  by  a  short,  I  might  almost 
say  a  cursory,  observation  of  the  features.  To  my 
but  imperfectly  trained  eye  this  maiden  in  question 
appears  to  have  more  kinship  with  the  southern  Euro- 
pean peoples — say  Italy,  or  Spain,  or  Portugal — than 
with  any  African  or  Asiatic  tribes." 

"  'Tis  a  pity  for  her,  poor  thing  ! "  murmured  Mary, 
"to  be  so  far  from  home." 

But  'Zekiel  looked  at  the  girl  with  no  agreement  in 
his  eyes. 

"  In  the  course  of  the  coming  week,"  continued  the 


A  SPANISH  MAID  53 

parson,  "I  shall  be  travelling  into  Haliggan  on  a 
small  matter  of  research,  and,  while  there,  I  will 
endeavour  to  meet  with  some  person  fluent  in  foreign 
languages  who  could  give  us  aid.  In  the  meanwhile 
if  I,  myself,  can  relieve  or  aid  in  any  way,  come,  or 
send,  without  hesitation  to  the  Parsonage,  and  I  shall 
be  pleased  to  do  all  in  my  power." 

"  Thank  'ee,  passon,  thank  'ee,"  replied  Peter,  know- 
ing well  the  honesty  underlying  the  old  man's  formal 
words. 

"Of  the  perpetrators  of  the  unholy  deed  we  will 
say  but  little  at  present ;  the  sin  is  theirs  and  will  not 
go  unpunished ;  but  a  sharp  look-out  when  the  fog  has 
cleared  somewhat  more,  and  as  full  communication  as 
is  possible  along  the  coast,  might,  perchance,  accelerate 
that  punishment.  Meanwhile,  my  grand-daughter  and 
I  will  continue  our  walk  to  the  cairn,  where  we  were 
taking  a  few  tools  and  a  frugal  meal  with  us."  He 
beamed,  as  he  lifted  his  Httle  tin  box  from  the  table. 
"  If,  as  I  have  long  suspected,  there  should  be  tracing 
or  inscription  at  the  base  of  the  cross  beside  it,  the 
rains  of  last  night  will  have  served  to  assist  me  in  my 
search." 

"You'll  pardon  my  stoppin'  'ee,  sir,"  said  Peter. 

"I  am  pleased,  Peter,  pleased  that  you  did  so.  A 
father  to  my  people  first,  an  antiquarian  afterwards,  is 


54  A    SPANISH    MAW 

what  I  would  be;  and  this  is  a  most  curious  and  in- 
teresting incident.  Good-day !  good-day.  Ursula,  my 
dear,  we  will  proceed  upon  our  way." 

Ursula,  lifting  her  sober  little  face  from  the  cradle, 
met  Mary's  grateful,  troubled  eyes,  and  blushed  at  the 
thought  of  her  own  monopoly  of  younger  Ludgven, 
then,  rising  from  her  knees,  she  smiled  gently  on  them 
all,  and,  with  a  half-fearful  glance  at  the  stranger- 
girl,  followed  the  parson  out  into  the  sunshine 
again. 

When  the  garden  gate  had  closed  with  its  customary 
click  the  husband  and  wife  each  looked  into  the  face 
of  the  other. 

"  What  do  'ee  think  of  it,  Mary  ?  "  asked  Peter,  seeing 
the  new  anxiety  in  Mary's  eyes  as  they  two  stood  apart 
by  the  little  flower-bedecked  window. 

"  I  dunno,  Peter,  I  dunno.  'Twas  a  wicked  business, 
sure  enough ;  but  her  eyes  burn  so  queer ;  an'  look  at 
our  'Zekiel,  he's  like  another  creature  ! " 

Peter,  turning  to  look  again  at  the  couple  by  the 
hearth,  saw  'Zekiel,  the  boisterous,  outspoken,  light- 
hearted  fisher-boy,  kneeling  grave-faced  and  compassion- 
ate before  the  stranger-girl  lying  back  languorously  in 
the  big  chair,  more  as  a  knight  of  the  Middle  Ages 
paying  homage  to  his  lady,  than  a  clumsy  village  boy 
striving    to    discover,    without    the    aid    of    language. 


A   SPANISH  MAID  55 

whether  or  no  the  pile  of  peat  and  gorse  blazed  too 
fiercely  for  the  maid's  comfort. 

"  She's  got  a  mortal  pretty  face — a  mortal  pretty  face," 
said  Peter  slowly.  "  An'  our  'Zekiel's  struck  down  by 
her  black  eyes,"  he  added,  with  a  laugh.  "  To  my  mind 
he's  fairly  mazed  about  the  maid  already.  But  don't  'ee 
fret,  my  dear,  he'll  be  right  again  afore  his  beard's  full 
grown,"  Yet  his  own  eyes  grew  suddenly  serious. 
"'Tis  truth,  she's  got  a  mortal  pretty  face,"  he  murmured, 
as  he  turned  away  towards  the  door. 

Mary  knew  that  he  spoke  truly ;  the  girl's  fairness  was 
beyond  denial.  But  a  load  lay  at  her  heart,  unanalysed, 
scarcely  realised,  but  a  load,  nevertheless;  and  she  turned 
away  from  the  m.aid's  fair  face,  and  bent  over  her  cradle 
and  sighed  a  heavy  sigh. 

And  'Zekiel  and  the  stranger,  in  the  shine  of  the 
glowing  peats,  looked  and  smiled  and  went  on  looking, 
and  found  an  eloquence  in  silence. 


CHAPTER  V. 

'  'TT  EKIEL  was  mazed. 

^—^  For  the  first  time,  since  the  red  cow  from  Trelean 
church-town  felt  enterprise  and  walked  eleven  miles  to 
sup  on  Landecarrock  cabbages,  the  village  was  of  one 
mind ',  and  its  one  mind  declared  that  'Zekiel  Myners 
was  mazed.  Peter  had  said  it  that  first  day  when  he 
looked  across  his  kitchen  at  the  boy  and  the  girl  beside 
his  hearth  and  saw  them  smiling  upon  each  other,  but 
he  went  his  way  and  awaited  the  recovery  with  good- 
humoured  tolerance.  The  fisher-boys  agreed  with 
Peter,  and  they  laughed  loudly  and  they  jested  freely 
when  the  knowledge  came  upon  them,  for  'Zekiel's 
whole-heartedness  had  been  a  weekly  affront  to  them. 
Countless  were  the  Sunday  afternoons  he  had  sat  with 
his  fellows  on  the  bit  of  cob  wall  by  the  "  look-out,"  the 
corner  round  which  all  the  lovers  passed  on  their  way 
to  Ten-Men's-Mound,  there  to  decorate  the  hillocks  with 
their  several  presences,  and  do  their  weekly  wooing  till 

56 


A  SPANISH  MAID  57 

the  time  was  come  to  pass  down  again  and  think  of 
sustenance;  and,  on  these  countless  Sunday  afternoons, 
he  had  watched  his  line  of  company  slide  off  one  by 
one,  some  shamefacedly,  some  with  a  gallant  air,  to  meet 
a  maid  and  swell  the  irregular  double  file  which  slowly 
chmbed  the  hill ;  and  he  had  flung  banter  at  their 
heels  as  he  turned  to  sprawl  more  at  ease  on  the  space 
which  they  had  left,  and  had  found  ample  entertainment 
in  his  own  thoughts  or  in  the  company  of  the  one  or 
two  lovers  who  chanced  to  be  unmatched  or  forsaken 
for  the  while.  Now  they  found  consolation  in  his 
surrender,  and  they  watched  and  enjoyed  his  worship 
of  the  strange  maid  who  draped  her  body  in  outlandish 
garments  and  spoke  no  single  word  clear  to  their  under- 
standing. But  the  jests  were  kindly,  and  they  also 
waited  for  the  end  of  the  mazedness,  for  with  them  these 
love-fevers  usually  ran  a  course,  and  the  course  was  not 
limitless. 

Mary  Ludgven,  too,  saw  'Zekiel's  mazedness,  but  she 
saw  in  it  more  than  the  common  lad's  love-sickness.  To 
her  eyes  the  boy  seemed  to  be  as  one  lying  under  a 
spell.  She  saw  his  face  grow  old;  she  saw  the  lines  drawn 
deeper  and  deeper  about  his  mouth  by  the  sharp  point 
of  his  passion  ;  she  saw  his  unrest,  and  the  hunger  which 
starved  the  old  content  from  his  eyes ;  she  felt  that  he 
was  bowing  heart  and  soul  before  the  witcheries  from 


58  A    SPANISH   MAID 

which  she  could  only  shrink,  and  the  worship  seemed 
unnatural  and  horrible  to  her  as  the  worship  of  a  child 
for  some  vile  god. 

And  'Zekiel — 'Zekiel  did  not  dally  to  find  a  softer 
word  than  "mazedness."  "  Mazedness  "  was  as  good  a 
word  as  "  love,"  as  he  had  learned  to  recognise  love 
in  the  pranks  and  ponderous  gambollings  of  the  pairs 
who  rounded  the  corner  by  the  "  look-out  "  on  Sunday 
afternoons.  If  that  poor,  common  preference  was 
*'  love,"  "  love "  was  no  word  for  the  wonderful  thing 
which  was  overfilling  his  heart — the  tearing  pain,  the 
blazing  joy,  which  was  no  mere  mad  South  passion 
crushing  down  obstacles,  nor  the  dogged  affection  of 
a  Northerner,  plodding,  and  bearing,  and  hoping ;  it  was 
neither,  with  the  elements  of  both.  A  great,  clear,  fierce 
fire,  scorching  and  comforting,  dropping  balm  on  his 
heart  as  it  seared  it,  forcing  a  great,  voiceless  cry 
from  his  soul;  a  passion  restrained,  a  longing  held 
back  by  reverence,  a  worship  fired  by  impulse ;  an 
overwhelming,  unutterable,  incomparable  force,  which 
he  joyed  in,  and  endured,  and  suffered,  and  hugged 
close  in  his  big,  boyish  heart,  and  would  not  have 
parted  with  if  he  could. 

The  emotion  had  its  drawbacks.  It  was  even  apt  to 
harass  the  mortal  who  inspired  it;  while,  as  to  the 
scene  in  which  it  was  lived  through,  that  spot  became 


A   SPANISH  MAID  59 

haunted  by  a  spirit  of  discomfort  and  unrest,  and  the 
dwellers  in  it  in  time  chafed  under  the  innovation, 
and  could  give  but  scant  sympathy;  for  they  brought 
common-sense  to  bear  upon  the  agitation,  with  the 
result  that  it  received  but  a  small  meed  of  toleration 
while  it  stirred  the  present.  The  haze  of  time  was 
needed  to  tone  down  the  recollection  of  the  discomfort 
and  bring  a  mild  compassion. 

So  'Zekiel,  to  friends  and  kinsfolk,  was  simply 
"  mazed  'bout  the  furrin'  maid " ;  and  they  looked  at 
his  haggard  face  and  thought  and  called  him  "fool 
for  his  pains."  For  all  this  'Zekiel  cared  nothing. 
Teresa  was  the  world  for  him ;  nothing  else  mattered 
— nothing,  except  the  language  which  balked  him  and 
shut  him  from  her  understanding;  and,  with  a  fine 
courage,  he  faced  that,  and  set  himself  the  task  of 
teaching  the  words  which  should  draw  the  girl  close 
to  him  by-and-bye. 

"  Speak  to  me,  sweetheart.  Speak  with  me  heart  to 
heart." 

That  was  'Zekiel's  prayer,  but  for  two  months  he 
did  not  utter  it,  though  through  every  minute  of  those 
two  months  he  craved  desperately  to  hear  plain  English 
words  from  the  girl's  tongue,  and  see  the  light  of 
understanding  in  her  eyes  ;  and  the  desire  gripped  at 
his  throat  sometimes,  almost  choking  him,  and  his  own 


6o  A    SPANISH   MAID 

heart  grew  over-big  with  all  that  he  would  say  to  her. 
But  the  pain  was  useless ;  it  accomplished  nothing.  He 
had  no  charmed  wand  to  strike  his  own  words  with  a 
soft  blow  upon  her  understanding.  It  could  only  be 
brought  about  slowly  and  by  labour.  So  he  strove  to 
crush  his  heart  back  to  some  degree  of  patience ;  and, 
every  day  when  work  was  done,  he  would  change  his 
sea-stained  clothes  for  his  bettermost  homespun  and 
jersey,  and,  leaving  his  little  lodgment  under  Betty 
Higgins'  eaves,  would  climb  the  hill  to  Peter  Ludgven's 
cottage,  where  Teresa  was  still  sheltered,  that  he  might 
struggle  on  with  the  teaching  of  his  own  broad  syllables 
to  her  lilting  tongue.  And  the  pleasure  of  it !  The 
gladness  of  a  new  word  mastered — a  whole  sentence 
achieved !  Each  word  was  a  separate  victory.  But 
even  into  the  midst  of  the  triumph  there  would  creep 
the  heart-sickness,  and  the  craving  for  the  time  of  her 
proficiency. 

Teresa,  looking  so  often  into  her  teacher's  eyes,  must 
have  learned  from  them  that  other  knowledge,  too — the 
teaching  he  forced  back  from  his  tongue — but  she  did 
not  resent  it  and  she  did  not  check  it.  Week  after  week 
she  took  his  time,  and  his  labour,  and  his  homage,  and 
gave  him  smiles  for  payment.  Week  after  week,  too, 
she  lived  placidly  on  Peter  Ludgven's  bounty,  without 
a  question  or  a  scruple,  content,  too,   to  all   seeming. 


A   SPANISH  MAID  6i 

until,  as  time  passed  by,  the  autumn  sun  passed  with 
it,  and  each  chilly  day  became  a  trial,  and  she  shivered, 
and  her  red  lips  drooped  pathetically.  Mary,  seeing  this, 
pitied  her,  and  piled  peats  on  her  hearth  in  reckless 
fashion,  and  hoped  for  a  merciful  winter ;  soon,  too, 
she  forsook  her  cushioned  chair  by  the  ingle,  and  spoke 
of  the  greater  comfort  of  a  straight-backed  chair  when 
one  must  needs  rock  a  cradle.  So  Teresa  rested  her 
languid  Hmbs  on  Mary's  cushions  before  the  warmth 
of  Mary's  creating,  and  Mary  took  some  comfort  to 
herself  from  this  small  straining  of  the  truth.  She  felt 
that  it  was  good  to  be  able  to  perform  some  tangible 
bit  of  hospitality ;  it  eased  the  compunction  in  her  heart, 
and  softened  her  self-reproach  that  she  could  not  take 
kindly  to  the  maid  whom  'Zekiel  had  set  his  heart 
upon. 

"  Speak  with  me,  sweetheart !  Speak  with  me  heart 
to  heart ! " 

It  was  on  a  grey,  misty  November  afternoon  that 
'Zekiel  spoke  his  prayer  aloud,  and  then  poured  out  a 
torrent  of  quick,  passionate  love  words,  most  of  which 
were  still  meaningless  to  the  girl.  But  Teresa  was 
pettish  and  shivering  that  day.  There  was  a  touch  of 
east  in  the  wind  and  the  sky  hung  low  over  the  sea; 
her  blood  ran  slow  and  her  temper  was  short;  and 
when  the  boy  put  out  his  big  hands  to  clasp  hers  she 


62  A    SPANISH  MAID 

frowned,  and  at  his  rough  touch  and  the  grasp  of  his 
hardened  palm,  she  shrank  back  with  a  petulant  cry  of 
distaste.  She  had  never  been  capricious  with  him 
before,  and  this  freak  came  as  a  blow  in  the  face 
to  him.  He  looked  at  her  with  wonder-wide  eyes, 
and  all  in  absent-mindedness  stroked  her  little  hand 
again.  At  that  second  touch  she  sprang  back  in  anger, 
and,  catching  up  her  shawl  from  the  settle,  she  twined 
it  about  her  hastily  and  ran  from  him  out  into  the 
cold,  damp  air. 

'Zekiel's  heart  contracted  with  a  sharp  pain.  The 
girl's  way  humiliated  him  and  cut  him  to  the  quick. 
For  a  moment  he  stood  quite  still  and  knew  what 
despair  meant,  and  faintly  felt  what  it  would  mean  for 
him  if  the  girl  went  out  of  his  life  again.  Then  "  'Tis 
her  waywardness,"  he  thought;  "she  isn'  like  Lande- 
carrock  maidens,  an'  I  wouldn'  have  her  be."  And  he 
followed  after  her  quickly  that  he  might  try  to  wipe  out 
his  offence. 

She  was  running  along  the  road  towards  the  sea, 
flying  fast  before  him,  her  dark  hair  blowing  about  her 
shoulders,  her  red  shawl  waving  in  the  wind.  Then  up 
the  cliff  hill  she  turned,  still  fleet  and  unwavering,  until 
she  reached  the  turfy  level,  the  spot  where  'Zekiel  had 
stood  to  watch  the  black  ship  and  her  crew  the  morning 
after  the  storm.     Here  she  stopped,  breathless,  panting, 


A  SPAmSH  MAID  63 

with  the  colour  flooding  in  her  cheeks,  and  'Zekiel 
came  up  to  her  and  took  her  gently  by  the  arm  to  ask 
forgiveness  for  his  unknown  fault.  But  she  still  shrank 
from  his  touch,  and  turned  from  him,  and  looked  away 
towards  the  sea.  Then  there  came  back  to  him  the 
remembrance  of  the  day  when  she  had  first  come  into 
his  life,  when  he  had  first  set  eyes  upon  her  and  held 
her  in  his  arms. 

"What  did  it  mean?"  he  thought  wildly.  "Why  did 
they  serve  her  so  ?  " 

Teresa,  too,  turned  her  eyes  from  the  horizon  back  to 
Averack  beach  and  shivered,  and,  looking  at  her,  'Zekiel 
saw  in  her  face  something  which  was  new  to  him. 

"  Tell  me  of  it ! "  he  cried,  pointing  down  to  the 
shingle  where  the  black  boat  had  grounded.  "  Tell  me 
of  the  devils  who  served  'ee  so." 

Many  of  his  words  were  clear  to  her,  and  the  pleading 
maddened  her ;  she  only  remembered  the  desertion,  not 
the  welcome,  and  she  hated  the  remembrance.  She 
turned  on  the  boy  furiously;  her  brows  lowered  and 
grew  ugly,  and  she  pushed  him  from  her.  "No,  no, 
no ! "  she  cried,  and  her  voice  was  not  quite  tuneful 
now.  "  No,  no,  no  ! "  Then  she  flung  away  from  him 
again  and  ran,  hurrying  and  stumbling,  down  the  hill 
she  had  but  just  climbed.  And  her  face  was  ablaze  with 
anger  and  her  eyes  blinded  by  her  rage-tears. 


64  A    SPAmSH   MAID 

"  He  is  cruel  !  He  drives  me  mad  ! "  she  cried, 
breaking  into  her  own  passionate  mother-tongue.  "  He 
will  not  have  me  forget !     He  will  never  have  me  forget !" 

Then,  suddenly,  came  back  an  echo  to  her  ears — an 
echo  of  her  angry  words.  "  He  will  never  have  me 
forget !  He  will  never  have  me  forget ! "  And  then 
came  a  short,  pleasant  laugh,  and  then  a  question  : 

"  Is  remembrance  so  terrible,  signorina  ?  " 

Teresa,  rushing  along  with  tear-blinded  eyes,  in  her 
heedless  rage  saw  nothing  but  a  sudden,  indistinct  figure 
which  seemed  to  rise  before  her,  and  then  she  felt  a 
shock  which  sent  her  reeling.  Putting  out  her  hands  to 
save  herself  she  found  them  held  by  other  hands,  and 
then  an  arm  steadied  her  as  she  was  wheeling  to  the 
ground.  The  hands  were  firm,  the  arm  was  muscular, 
the  voice  was  cheerful,  and  hands,  arm,  and  voice 
belonged  to  a  man — a  young  man — and  the  manner  of 
his  support  was  close  and  sturdy.  In  another  moment 
Teresa  was  safe  and  her  footing  sure,  and  the  tears  were 
on  her  cheeks  now,  leaving  her  eyes  clear,  but  she  still 
clung  to  the  strong  arm. 

"  You  are  from  Spain ?"  she  panted  excitedly.  "You 
know  my  language  !     You  are  one  of  us  ! " 

"  I  am  from  Spain,"  the  young  man  answered,  smiling 
carelessly  into  her  eager  face,  "and  I  know  your 
language,  but  I  am  not  one  of  you." 


A    SPANJSH   MAW  65 

"  But  you  are  a  friend  in  this  icy  land  of  strangers," 
she  insisted.  "You  have  felt  the  sun  ;  you  have  seen  a 
blue  sky.  You  can  warm  my  cold  heart  with  words,  and 
melt  for  me  the  chill  of  these  sullen  persons  and  their 
black  days." 

"  I  can  do  many  things,"  he  answered  lightly,  "  when 
I  have  learned  why  Spanish  maids  come  tumbling  from 
the  very  skies  into  my  arms.  'Tis  a  new  fashion  in 
Landecarrock  since  I  last  lived  here." 

She  listened  to  his  careless,  laughing  words  mocking 
her  eagerness,  but  the  arm  was  still  holding  her,  and  the 
hold  was  firm.  She  sighed  a  deep  sigh  then,  part  of 
self-pity  for  her  own  past  loneliness,  part  of  pleasure  in 
the  consolation  here  close  to  her — a  fellow-creature  who 
smiled  on  her,  and  understood  her,  and  who  could 
admire  even  while  he  mocked. 

Then  to  them  both  came  'Zekiel,  with  his  nostrils 
strained  and  his  hair  dishevelled  by  the  wind,  and 
halting  suddenly,  as  if  shocked  into  stillness,  he  looked 
from  Teresa  to  the  man,  with  hunted  eyes.  It  was'  then 
that  the  stranger  slowly  loosened  the  arm  which  held 
the  girl,  and,  looking  with  laughing  eyes  at  'Zekiel, 
greeted  him  with  an  outstretched  hand. 

"'Zekiel,  'Zekiel,  is  this  what  you  have  been  doing 
while  I  have  been  a-roaming?  Hunting  poor  Spanish 
maidens  till  they  rush   to  the   very   arms   of  strangers 

E 


66  ^    SPANISH   MAID 

for  protection?  Ah,  'Zekiel,  you  have,  in  good  truth, 
been  growing  quickly,  while  I  have  been  but  dreaming 
of  it." 

"  Master  Humphrey !  Back  home  again !  Spanish 
maiden!"  gasped  'Zekiel.  "Is  it  true.  Master  Hum- 
phrey ?     Is  she  sure  enough  a  Spanish  maiden  ?  " 

"Spanish,  I  vow,  by  the  colour  and  tongue  of  her. 
But  we  Englishmen  must  learn  to  forget  old  battles 
in  these  days;  we  must  bury  old  quarrels,  and  for- 
swear chasing  Spaniards  now.  And  a  woman,  too, 
'Zekiel !  To  chase  a  woman  !  Lord,  what  a  change  in 
English  manners ! " 

"  I  didn'  go  for  to  do  it,  Master  Humphrey.  'Tis 
true  we  hold  no  great  love  for  the  Spaniard,  but  I 
didn'  go  for  to  chase   the   maid  with  any  manner   of 

hate  towards  her,  rather "   'Zekiel  coloured   hotly, 

and,  after  trying   to   face   the  laughing  eyes,  flinched, 
and  looked  upon  the  ground. 

"  Rather  with  a  manner  of — of  hve,  'Zekiel  ?  Folks 
say  we  have  strange  ways  of  proving  our  devotion 
here  in  these  parts,  and,  forsooth,  you  seem  to  have 
found  a  way  of  your  own.  At  times,  'tis  said,  we're 
slow,  with  but  ice  where  blood  should  be;  but  of 
such  faults  I'll  hold  you  innocent,  I  swear.  And  the 
maid  herself,  does  she  approve  this  fashion  for  the 
storming  of  her  heart  ?  " 


A    SPANISH  MAW  67 

"  The  maid  ! — the  maid  !  "  cried  'Zekiel  in  his  pain  ; 
"the  maid's  hard  put  to  it  to  make  out  so  much  as  a 
word  I  say.  'Tis  Hke  to  a  great  stone  wall,  that  foreign 
talk  of  hers.  I've  a-bruised  my  very  heart  an'  soul 
in  tryin'  to  pull  it  down ;  an'  how  can  /,  just  a  fisher- 
boy,  climb  over  it  ?  " 

'"Love!  love!  love!  Love  will  find  out  the  way,'" 
sang  Master  Humphrey. 

But  there  lay  no  manner  of  comfort  in  platitudes 
for  'Zekiel.  Only  a  new  pain  was  born  to  him  as 
he  turned  towards  Teresa  and  saw  her,  still  flushed 
and  panting,  with  her  eager  eyes  fastened  on  Master 
Humphrey's  face. 

"  Teresa ! "  cried  'Zekiel,  with  a  sharp  note  of 
anguish  in  his  voice. 

But  Teresa  did  not  move;  it  was  as  if  she  did  not 
hear  him. 

"  Teresa,"  Master  Humphrey  repeated  softly  in  her 
own  Southern  words,  "  Teresa  —  a  gleaner ;  'tis  a 
pleasant  name." 

And  Teresa  drew  near  to  him,  as  if  he  had  com- 
manded her,  and  she  laid  her  hands  upon  his  arm  as 
a  little  child  would  lay  them,  and  her  eyes  still 
showed  her  pleasure. 

Master  Humphrey  looked  back  at  her  in  silence 
for  a  moment,  and  then  he  laughed  amusedly,  as  one 


68  A    SPANISff    MAID 

who  realises  that  he  it  is  who  makes  the  third  of  a 
trio. 

"Good-day,  good-day!"  he  cried.  "This  is  my 
fine  fashion  of  hurrying  to  the  Parsonage  as  I  pro- 
mised Dame  Tellam  I  would.  I  must  see  you  all 
again  soon,  'Zekiel,  and  hear  Landecarrock  tidings." 

And  'Zekiel  stood  and  watched  him  go,  and  then 
he  moaned ;  and  to  look  forward  seemed  a  blank  and 
dreary  work.  Then  he  turned  to  Teresa,  and  he 
saw  that  she,  too,  was  looking  after  Master  Humphrey ; 
and  her  eyes  were  shining  and  held  a  look  that  made 
him  wince  and  draw  his  breath  back  over  his  lip, 
as  children  do  when  they  cut  themselves  and  will  not 
cry. 

"Come  'long  home,"  he  pleaded,  with  the  sharp 
pain-note  still  in  his  voice.  "  Come  'long  home,  co'." 
He  knew  that  he  must  move  her  eyes  from  that 
comely  figure  strolling  up  the  hill,  or  he  should  speak 
some  mad  words ;  and  a  senseless,  great  tremor  of 
relief  shook  him  when  she  stirred  and  slowly  faced 
him.  There  was  no  anger  for  him  in  her  eyes  now, 
but  he  knew  that  the  satisfaction  which  lay  in  them 
was  none  of  his  causing.  And  it  was  in  silence  that 
they  turned  and  walked  side  by  side  back  to  Peter 
Ludgven's  hearth, 


CHAPTER   VI. 

TTT^HEN  Master  Humphrey  reached  that  point  of 
'  ^  the  hill  where  the  road  branched  off  to  the 
Parsonage,  he  turned  and  looked  back  at  'Zekiel  and  the 
girl — two  distance-dwarfed  figures  walking,  with  a  wide 
space  between  them  along  the  level,  past  Ann  Vitty's 
fuchsia  bush — and  the  sight,  in  some  undefined  way, 
made  him  feel  suddenly  older  than  he  need  have  felt, 
and  seemed  to  show  no  reason  for  the  feeling.  In  the 
three  years  which  had  passed  since  Master  Humphrey 
had  grown  weary  of  his  loneliness  and  had  started  on 
his  travels,  'Zekiel,  it  was  true,  seemed  to  have  grown 
from  slings,  and  surreptitious  games  of  span-farthing,  to 
be  sweetheart-high,  and,  in  the  sight  of  this  growth, 
may  have  lain  the  explanation  of  Master  Humphrey's 
consciousness  of  age.  Be  that  as  it  might,  when  he 
turned  after  a  while  and  faced  the  hill  again,  a 
thoughtful  mood  had  fallen  upon  him.  He  walked 
slowly,    and    when    he    reached    the    low    wall    round 

6'J 


70  A    SPANISH   MAID 

about  the  churchyard,  he  stopped  and  rested  there, 
in  the  face  of  all  Dame  Tellam's  wishes,  and  looked 
reflectively  across  the  bare,  wind-swept  spot. 

Daniel  Laskey  was  tending  graves  a  little  way  off, 
bowing  over  his  work  with  the  obeisance  which  seventy 
years  is  apt  to  force  upon  the  shape.  Master  Hum- 
phrey's eyes  rested  compassionately  on  the  old  man, 
and  he  realised  that  Daniel,  too,  had  grown  older, 
though  the  churchyard  in  which  he  toiled  and  spent 
his  strength,  keeping  it  neat  and  prim  as  a  bride 
would  keep  her  best  room,  was  scarcely  fuller  than  it 
had  been  three  years  before.  On  a  flat  tombstone, 
hard  by  Daniel,  sat  another  figure — a  big,  unshapely 
man,  with  a  loose,  smiling  mouth,  who  played  with 
knuckle-bones,  and  broke  the  damp,  grey  silence  with 
an  occasional  foolish  laugh,  according  to  the  interest 
of  the  game.  This  was  Sam'le  Laskey,  Daniel's  son, 
aged  fifty-two.  And  Master  Humphrey,  watching  him 
as  he  played  so  foolishly  and  so  contentedly  upon  the 
old  lichened  slab,  saw  that  Sam'le,  at  least,  had  grown 
no  older  with  the  years  that  had  passed,  and  a  new 
pity  for  Daniel  stirred  in  him,  for  Master  Humphrey 
had  lived  three  travelled  years  since  last  he  had  looked 
upon  father  and  son,  and  he  had  begun  to  understand 
some  of  the  hard  things  which  may  befall  a  man. 
And    he   pulled   a    dried    grass    stem    and    chewed    it 


A    SPANISH    MAID  71 

absently  as  he  contemplated  the  two  at  their  ordinary 
game  of  life. 

There  was  an  old  tale  told  in  Landecarrock,  that, 
when  Daniel  Laskey  had  been  a  boy,  he  had  gone 
away  and  married  a  girl  who  had  died  before  her 
"  teens  "  had  power  to  weary  her.  But  Daniel  never  told 
the  tale  himself;  he  only  came  quietly  back  to 
Landecarrock  with  a  silly-faced  baby  in  his  arms,  long 
before  he  had  turned  twenty,  and,  renting  the  cottage 
down  by  the  boat-sheds,  bought  a  cradle  and  a  few 
odd  things,  and  settled  himself  again  upon  his  native 
soil,  being  recognised  as  a  widow -man  from  that 
day. 

For  more  than  fifty  years  since  then  he  had  worked 
from  early  Monday  till  late  Saturday,  and  had  kept 
food  and  firing  in  the  house,  enough  for  two ;  but  if 
the  villagers  expected  Daniel  to  lavish  love  upon  his 
heir,  they  were  disappointed,  for  Daniel  Laskey  and 
Sam'le,  his  son,  walked  separate  ways  from  the  time 
of  Sam'le's  "feeling  his  feet,"  and  were  never  seen  to 
interchange  a  word  in  pleasantness  or  in  wrath  as  far 
back  as  any  one  could  stir  a  memory.  Landecarrock 
folks  supposed  that  Daniel  provided  clothing  for  Sam'le, 
because  Sam'le  wore  clothing,  and,  undoubtedly,  he  did 
not  provide  it  for  himself,  having  never  done  a  stroke 
of  work  in  his  life,  except  once  or  twice  in  mistake  for 


72  A    SPANISH    MAID 

play ;  but  no  one  ever  saw  the  purchase  made  (which 
is  saying  much  for  Daniel's  secretiveness),  and  Daniel 
kept  his  own  counsel.  Sam'le,  it  is  true,  had  sometimes 
been  questioned  on  the  matter  in  his  younger  days, 
but,  as  he  told  a  different  tale  to  each  questioner — 
thereby  causing  some  friction  in  the  village  until  the 
questioners  had  come  together  and  aired  their  authority 
and  faced  its  value — they  remain  mystified. 

It  was  Sam'le's  way  to  hover  about  his  father  as  he 
worked,  at  such  times  as  the  rest  of  the  village  had 
gone  a-fishing  out  at  sea,  but  this  seemed  to  be  because 
he  hated  solitude,  not  because  he  was  affectionate. 
And  Daniel  bore  with  him  in  silence ;  and  only  once 
in  all  the  fifty -odd  years — on  that  summer  Sunday 
evening  when  Sam'le  inadvertently  loosed  all  the  boats 
from  their  moorings  while  the  village  was  at  worship, 
and  came  with  slack  lips  and  mildly  wondering  eyes 
to  the  church  to  tell  of  it — only  on  that  one  occasion 
had  Daniel  been  known  to  volunteer  a  word  on  the 
subject  of  his  son. 

" '  He  that  begetteth  a  fool  doeth  it  to  his  sorrow ; 
and  the  father  of  a  fool  hath  no  joy,' "  he  said  grimly, 
as  he  stood  by  the  water  and  watched  the  men  chasing 
their  boats  round  the  point  by  means  of  Builder  Belovely's 
great  smack;  then  he  spat  as  though  the  taste  in  his 
mouth  was  bitter,  and  then  he  turned  and  went  into  his 


A    SPANISH  MAW 


73 


cottage,  leaving  Sam'le  to  the  mercy  of  the  boatmen 
on  their  return,  and  the  womenkind  meanwhile. 

Master  Humphrey  smiled  as  the  old  tale  drifted 
through  his  mind ;  then,  after  a  while,  having  no  graves 
to  tend  or  knuckle-bones  to  play  with,  he  grew  chilly 
in  the  raw  air  and  rose  to  go  upon  his  way.  But  at 
that  moment,  round  the  corner  of  the  church  came 
a  tall,  lean  figure,  carrying  a  plummet  in  one  hand, 
and  a  note-book  in  the  other,  and  Master  Humphrey 
cleared  the  hedge  at  a  bound  and  hurried  forward  to 
meet  it. 

"  Parson,"  he  cried,  with  all  his  cheerfulness  returning, 
"  I  was  wanting  you ;  I  was  on  my  way  to  you.  Say 
you're  glad  to  see  me  home  again  !  " 

Parson  Swayn,  dropping  his  plummet  and  misplacing 
his  index-finger  in  his  note-book,  gripped  the  hand 
held  out  to  him,  and  beamed  upon  the  young  man. 

"  Humphrey  !  my  dear  Humphrey !  I  almost  imagine 
that  my  eyes  must  be  deceiving  me !  Truly,  I  am 
overjoyed  to  see  you  home  once  again.  But  so  sudden, 
so  unpretentious  a  return  !  I  have  heard  no  word  of 
the  expectation " 

"All  my  fault,  sir,  all  my  fault,  and  I  have  had  to 
bear  much  scolding  for  it,"  confessed  Master  Humphrey. 
"To  tell  truth,  I  turned  babyish,  and  all  suddenly 
wanted  my  home.     The  longing  gripped  me  as  I  stood 


74  A    SPANISH    MAID 

one  morning  in  the  busy  street  of  a  dirty  Spanish  town, 
and  I  turned  about  and  came  swiftly  as  sails  and 
horses  could  bring  me.  'Twas  but  at  dawn  this 
morning  that  I  galloped  in  at  my  own  gates  and 
shocked  half  Dame  Tellam's  love  away  by  the  sudden 
and  undignified  manner  of  it.  She,  it  was,  who  com- 
manded me  to  come  and  report  myself  to  my  parson ; 
for  the  thought  of  Squire  Humphrey  Harle  being  in 
Landecarrock  after  three  years  roaming,  and  no  one 
a  whit  more  awed  or  the  wiser  for  it,  was  gall  and 
wormwood  to  the  old  lady." 

"Something  more  than  Dame  Tellam's  urgings 
brought  you  up  the  hill,  I  trust,"  ventured  the  parson, 
smiling  his  gentle  smile. 

"That's  truth,  sir,  for  I  was  eager  to  look  on  you 
and  the  little  maid,  Ursula ;  and  I  gladly  left  the  dame 
in  peace  to  move  the  linen  coverings  from  the  chairs 
and  tables  (her  true  reason  for  sending  me  upon  my 
way,  I  told  her),  that  I  might  come  to  set  my 
own  eyes  upon  you  both.  How  does  little  Ursula 
fare,  parson  ?  " 

"Little  Ursula  is  little  Ursula  no  longer,  in  one 
sense  of  the  word,"  replied  the  parson.  "'Tis  true 
she  is  of  small  and  delicate  growth,  but,  remember, 
she  has  slipped  from  twelve  to  fifteen  years  since  last 
you  saw  her.     You  will  find  us  older,  Humphrey — all 


A    SPANISH   MAID 


75 


older.     And "  he  added,  with  a  smile,  half-humorous, 

half-pathetic,  "we  tend  toward  antiquatedness  without 
gaining  interest  as  antiquities." 

"  The  antiquatedness  is  more  to  my  taste,"  protested 
Master  Humphrey. 

"  Boy,  thou  wert  ever  a  Vandal.  But  come,  I  will 
not  entertain  my  guest  entirely  upon  common  ground. 
We  will  go  to  my  room  where,  no  doubt,  we  shall  find 
the  little  housekeeper,  Ursula,  who  will  give  us  a  cup 
of  her  China  tea-drink  for  our  refreshment." 

The  "parson's  room,"  to  which  he  led  Master 
Humphrey,  was  the  pride  of  Landecarrock.  Every 
man  in  the  village — not  to  speak  of  some  women  and 
children — felt  that  he,  or  she,  had  helped  to  make  it 
what  it  was.  And  they  knew  that  it  was  like  no  other 
room  in  the  land.  The  first  stone  of  it  had  been 
placed,  under  the  parson's  watchful  eyes,  one  year, 
long  ago,  when  the  village  had  been  mourning  under 
the  stress  of  storm  and  wreck,  and  the  very  fish  had 
deserted  the  sea ;  and  the  village  blessed  the  parson, 
and  went  to  work  with  fresh  hearts  strengthening 
their  unskilled  hands.  And  the  parson  stood  by  them 
with  a  treasure  destined  for  every  inch,  and  a  tale 
for  every  treasure.  And  every  Landecarrock  man 
straightened  his  back  and  felt  proud  when  he  looked 
upon   it   finished,    for   it   is   not  given   to   all  men   to 


76  A    SPANISH    MAID 

accomplish  fine  art  in  the  intervals  of  fish-catching, 
and  the  experiment  was  new  enough  to  be  altogether 
pleasant ;  nor  was  there  any  carping  art  critic  to  be 
reckoned  with  in  those  days  and  parts,  to  take  the 
bloom  from  the  plum  of  their  content. 

On  the  outside,  the  parson's  room  was  but  a  rough, 
twelve-sided  building,  made  of  unshaped  granite  blocks, 
with  lancet  windows  and  a  domed  roof.  But  it  was 
on  the  inside  that  the  parson  and  his  men  looked 
and  felt  proud ;  for  there  was  gathered  together  all 
the  treasures  of  stone,  and  marble,  and  gold,  and  gem 
which  the  parson  himself  had  sought  for,  or  bargained 
for,  or  accumulated ;  and  the  twelve  walls  and  the 
domed  roof  were  encrusted  with  beauty.  Round  the 
base  of  the  building  the  coarser  treasures  were  placed 
— granite  slabs  with  strange  inscriptions,  crosses  and 
carved  stones  dug  from  the  earth  or  saved  from  an 
extreme  destiny  in  the  walls  of  pig-styes  or  cow- 
sheds. Above  these  shone  marbles  and  porphyries 
of  wonderful  colour  and  fine  polish ;  and  from  these 
again  rose  a  rainbow-like  gHtter  of  quartz,  and  spar, 
and  gem,  and  mineral,  from  jetty  black  to  dazzling 
white,  from  royal  purple  to  delicate  amethyst,  from 
deepest  emerald  to  palest  sea-green,  from  an  umber 
which  glowed  to  a  sparkling  amber,  with  gold  and 
silver,   tin   and   copper,    corals   and   fossils,    flints    and 


A    SPANISH   MAID  tj 

shells,  diamonds  which  had  lain  in  the  Cornish  earth, 
and  amethysts  which  had  lain  by  the  Cornish  sea. 
And  they  glittered,  and  flashed,  and  gleamed  in 
sunlight  by  day  and  in  the  light  of  the  big  lamp 
which  hung  from  the  roof  by  night. 

To  Ursula,  who  had  grown  up  in  it,  this  room  seemed 
no  wonder ;  it  was  beautiful,  indeed,  but  she  knew 
of  many  such  in  another  land.  The  land  in  question, 
however,  was  fairyland,  and  of  such  a  spot  the 
parson  and  his  men  knew  no  geography.  But  with 
these  twelve  wonderful  walls  around  her,  and  the  wild, 
lonely  land  outside,  Ursula  found  it  no  hard  matter 
to  live  half  her  life  in  fairyland  and  weave  fresh  tales 
to  meet  her  limitations. 

On  this  November  afternoon  she  sat  on  a  straight- 
backed  oak  chair  before  the  hearth,  with  a  little  table 
beside  her  on  which  were  set  the  cups  and  saucers — 
white  delf,  blue  starred — which  had  served  for  her 
dolls  before  those  treasures  were  laid  in  the  old  chest 
for  a  long,  long  sleep  some  years  ago,  but  which  now 
served  for  the  China  tea  which  she  and  the  parson 
drank  together  every  afternoon. 

Ursula  looked  less  of  a  child  now  than  on  that  day 
when  the  Spanish  girl  had  come  to  Peter  Ludgven's 
cottage.  The  big  duffel  cloak  had  hidden  the  air  of 
womanliness  which  became  her  so  well,  and  the  hood 


78  A    SPANISH    MAID 

had  covered  the  soft  fair  hair  drawn  Ughtly  back  from 
her  dreamy  Uttle  face.  To-day,  as  she  sat  waiting  in 
the  firelight  beside  her  tea-table,  she  looked  so  serious 
and  demure  in  her  little  grey  gown  with  the  white 
'kerchief  about  her  shoulders,  that  the  parson  seemed 
right  in  assuring  Master  Humphrey  that  she  was  "  little 
Ursula"  no  longer.  She  was  dreaming  of  the  ways  and 
the  doings  of  that  gracious,  glorious  land — that  land 
which  was  not  Arabia,  nor  Persia,  nor  India,  nor 
Algeria,  which  was  like  them  all,  rich,  gorgeous, 
tropical,  and  yet  different,  more  fanciful,  nebulous, 
unreal  —  which  was,  in  fact,  fairyland.  She  was 
wondering  in  what  manner  the  chief  of  all  those 
imaginary,  yet  intensely  real,  personages,  the  gallant 
hero-fairy  prince-knight,  would  sail  to  Landecarrock 
— for  that  he  would  reach  those  shores  in  due  time, 
she  felt  sure — when  the  door  opened,  and  Agrimony, 
her  little  maid,  put  in  her  curly  head. 

"  Mistress  Ursula,  if  you  please,  the  pot  boils,  and 
the  master  is  nearing  home  with  a  stranger  by  his  side." 
And  Agrimony's  face  was  wreathed  in  smiles. 

"A  stranger!"  exclaimed  Mistress  Ursula,  starting 
from  her  day-dream,  and  flushing  quickly  at  the  rare 
news  of  such  a  coming,  seeming,  as  it  did,  to  answer 
to  her  wonderings.     "  A  stranger  !     Of  what " 

But   Agrimony   was    gone,    and    her   little    mistress 


A    SPAN/SI/   MAID 


79 


stood  with  her  hands  clasped  and  her  breath  coming 
fast,  waiting  for  the  coming  of  the  unknown. 

"Ursula,  dear  child,  I  have  brought  a  stranger  to 
you,"  announced  the  parson,  as  he  crossed  the  room 
followed  by  Master  Humphrey. 

The  colour  flooded  Ursula's  face,  and  for  a  moment 
she  closed  her  eyes  in  her  exquisite  agitation.  When, 
however,  she  looked  up  and  saw  the  laughing  face 
she  knew  so  well,  a  great  disappointment  shook  her, 
and  her  voice  held  the  vibration  as  she  faltered : 
"  Humphrey ! " 

But  at  once,  on  the  shock  of  the  pain,  came  the 
shock  of  the  pleasure.  The  real  event  was  so  good, 
the  imaginary  could  wait,  and  "  Humphrey  !  "  she  cried 
again,  all-joyous. 

'*  I  think  you  were  not  glad  to  see  me.  Mistress  Ursula?" 
ventured  Master  Humphrey. 

"  Oh  yes,  indeed,  indeed,"  she  protested ;  then,  in 
strict  truthfulness  added,  "  now." 

"  Did  you  look  to  see  some  other  friend  ?" 

"I   looked,"  she  faltered.      "I  looked  to  see " 

Then  she  met  the  laughing  eyes  again  and  pride  gave 
her  courage.  "  I  can  wait  for  others ;  there  is  time 
enough  for  any  other,"  she  declared  with  a  pretty 
gravity.  "It  is  you  whom  I  know  I  am  glad  to 
see." 


So  A    SPANISH   MAID 

Agrimony,  bringing  in  the  pot,  set  it  on  the  hearth, 
and  handed  the  little  inlaid  tea  chest  to  Mistress 
Ursula  whose  little  hands  were  trembling.  And 
Agrimony  noted  the  trembUng,  and  she  noted  also  the 
light  in  Master  Humphrey's  eyes  as  he  looked  at  his 
playfellow  and  realised  that  twelve  and  three  make 
fifteen.  And  then  Agrimony  passed  out  again  into 
the  passage-way  which  led  to  the  house  itself,  and 
being  there,  she  laughed  softly,  yet  merrily.  But  Agri- 
mony was  often  laughing  when  there  seemed  but  small 
reason  for  the  act. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

"  IVyr ASTER  HUMPHREY'S  home  agen!"  'Zekiel 
•^^■^     announced   that  same  evening,  as  he   sat   at 
his  sister's  ingle  and  looked  into  the  red  heart  of  the 
peat-clods. 

"  Master  Humphrey — home ! "  repeated  Mary  Ludgven 
amazed.  "  Goodness  me  !  Then  'twas  sudden,  I'll  be 
bound,  for  I  saw  Dame  Tellam  down  to  Pecket's  farm 
only  yesterday  forenoon,  an'  she  didn'  make  no  mention 
of  it."  She  was  sitting  on  a  low,  wooden  chair  beside 
Teresa,  with  Zel  on  her  lap,  curling  his  bare  toes  in 
the  warmth  of  the  fire,  his  day  garments  all  slack  about 
him,  buttons  and  strings  being  allowed  some  relaxation 
in  view  of  the  imminence  of  bed-time.  "  Poor  young 
gentleman  ! "  she  went  on  musingly.  "  I  often  think 
'tis  a  lonesome  life  for  him  down  in  that  great  empty 
house,  not  a  soul  of  his  own  family  to  care  whether 
he's  livin'  or  dyin',  an'  all  his  fine  friends  enjoyin'  of 
themselves  far  away  from  these  parts." 

"  He'd  best  marry,"  said   'Zekiel,    "  if  'tis   company 


82  A    SPANISH   MAID 

he's  wantin'.     And  'twould  be  a  good  thing  for  Lande- 
carrock  as  well  as  for  himself." 

"He's  a  bit  young  to  marry  and  settle  yet  awhile, 
I'm  thinkin',"  Mary  hazarded. 

"  A  bit  young !  No  one's  too  young  who's  a  mind 
to  it  an'  a-plenty  to  live  on."  'Zekiel's  voice  was 
protesting,  and  his  eyes  left  the  peat  flame  which  had 
seemed  to  hold  them,  and  rested  on  Teresa's  face  as 
she  sat  opposite  to  him  with  the  firelight  glancing  on 
her,  now  lighting  her  with  a  red  shine  and  again  leaving 
her  indistinct  in  shadow. 

"  'Tis  true  the  old  squire  was  but  a  boy  when  he 
married,"  allowed  Mary,  "  an'  he  was  happy  enough, 
folks  say,  but  I'm  thinkin'  Master  Humphrey  is  made 
of  different  stuff  to  what  the  old  squire  was,  with  a 
likin'  to  see  the  world  in  his  own  way." 

"  To  my  mind,  a  young  squire  with  money,  an' 
wits,  an'  a  great  empty  house,  an'  a  sight  of  people 
on  his  land,  ought  to  get  married,"  declared  'Zekiel 
hotly. 

"You'm  set  on  havin'  the  young  master  settled," 
laughed  Mary,  as  she  gently  smoothed  Zel's  feet  and 
looked  into  the  blaze. 

And  'Zekiel  drew  back  into  the  shadow  of  the  settle- 
arm,  for  he  knew  that  his  face  was  eager  with  his  words. 
He  knew,  too,  that  Master  Humphrey's  loneliness  and 


A    SPANISH   MAID  83 

his  people's  comfort  were  nothing  to  him  then ;  but 
the  squire's  face  was  handsome,  and  his  own  heart  was 
heavy. 

"  I'm  thinkin',"  spoke  Mary  slowly,  after  a  long  pause, 
"that  maybe  Master  Humphrey  would  be  like  to 
know  the  words  that  Teresa  talks.  He's  travelled  in 
a  powerful  sight  of  lands,  folks  say,  and  'twould  be  a 
good  thing  for  the  poor  maid  to  find  some  livin'  soul 
to  make  known  her  troubles  to.  P'raps  Peter  might 
tell  him  'bout  the  matter,  for  he's  a  kindly  young 
gentleman  to  speak  with,  an'  has  a  good  heart  with 
all  his  laughin'  ways." 

"  He  knows  most  tongues,  I  make  no  doubt,"  'Zekiel 
agreed,  with  bitterness  in  his  voice  which  was  hateful 
to  him  but  would  not  be  curbed  ;  "  he's  got  the  luck, 
has  Master  Humphrey."  But  he  did  not  tell  Mary 
of  that  first  meeting  on  the  hill,  somehow  he  could 
not  fit  the  words  to  it.  And  then  it  seemed  that  the 
pause  had  made  the  telling  impossible. 

"  My  precious !  'tis  bye-low  time,"  cooed  Mary  to 
her  boy,  as  she  caught  him  tightly  to  her  and  rocked 
him  to  and  fro. 

"  I  must  be  goin',  too,"  said  'Zekiel,  rising  as  he 
spoke. 

"  Goin' !  "  Mary  exclaimed,  turning  to  him  in  surprise  ; 
for   'Zekiel's   hours   by   her  hearth   had   lengthened  as 


84  A    SPANISH   MAID 

the  days  had  shortened.  "Whatever  are  'ee  goin' 
for  ?  " 

"Well,"  stammered  'Zekiel,  "I  dunno — but  maybe — 
I'd  best  be  off." 

"  Better  bide  till  Peter  comes,"  said  Mary,  pitying  the 
pain  on  his  face.  Then  she  rose  with  Zel  in  her  arms, 
and  climbed  slowly  up  the  white  wooden  stairs  humming 
a  lullaby  to  her  boy's  drowsy  objections  as  she  went. 

'Zekiel  stood  for  a  moment,  irresolute,  twisting  his 
knitted  cap,  then  he  turned  to  Teresa  and  held  out  his 
hand  to  bid  her  good-night. 

But  Teresa's  passion  was  over.  Perhaps  the  new 
twist  in  her  life  had  touched  her  with  generosity,  or 
perhaps  she  noted  that,  in  the  kindly  firelight,  'Zekiel's 
face  was  wonderfully  comely,  and  his  roughness  seemed 
but  an  admirable  strength,  or  perhaps  her  selfish 
heart  was  penitent.  Whichever  reason  held  good,  when 
'Zekiel  held  his  hand  to  her  she  caught  it  with  both  her 
own,  and  hfting  her  alluring  face  to  him,  all  tender  and 
petitioning,  she  drew  him  gently  to  the  chair  which 
Mary  had  left,  and  her  warm  fingers  lingered  about  his 
own  for  a  long  moment  after  their  sweet  force  had 
ceased.  Then  she  smiled  as  a  sorry  child  might  smile, 
and  then  she  turned  from  him  and  looked  into  the  fire, 
pensive. 

But  'Zekiel  talked  no  more  of  leaving. 


A    SPANISH   MAID  85 

"What  did  I  do  to  'ee,"  he  murmured  passionately, 
"  to  make  'ee  angry  ?  I  didn'  think  when  I  learned  'ee 
to  say  *  No,'  that  'twould  be  for  the  like  of  that." 

She  turned  to  him  again.  "No?  No?"  she  re- 
peated slowly,  with  a  question  in  each  word.  Then 
with  an  impulsive  gesture  she  smoothed  the  hand  she 
had  shrunk  from,  and  smiling  graciously,  "Ah!  it  will 
be  *  Yes  !     Yes  !     Yes  ! ' "  she  softly  promised. 

And  the  fire  burned  low  and  clear,  and  the  knitted 
cap  lay  upon  the  floor,  and  the  lullaby  overhead  grew 
fainter  and  fainter  until  it  died  away.  And  in  the 
kitchen  scarcely  a  word  was  spoken,  but  the  girl's  hand 
lay  upon  the  boy's,  and,  in  the  glorious  silence  which  fell 
for  an  unreckoned  spell,  the  boy's  still  tongue  recorded 
a  more  triumphant  joy  than  shouts  from  a  thousand 
throats  could  have  told ;  and  when  Mary  came  softly 
down  the  stairs  again  from  the  crib  of  her  sleeping  boy, 
'Zekiel  had  not  yet  said  his  "Good-night,"  the  cut  of  its 
syllables  would  have  murdered  his  short  happiness — his 
exultation — the  strength  of  which  was  no  stronger  than 
a  girl's  whim  could  shatter,  the  length  no  longer  than 
the  letter's  difference  between  her  "Yes"  and  "No." 

Mary  stood  a  while  and  looked  from  the  shadow  of 
the  stairway  across  at  the  figures  in  the  firelight,  and 
the  gaunt,  eager-faced  man  seemed  a  stranger  in  her 
eyes,  but  the  girl-child  at  his  side  made  her  shudder. 


86  A    SPANISH   MAID 

"Is  the  maid  stealing  all  the  youngness  from  his 
face  for  her  own?"  she  thought  wildly.  "Is  she  flesh 
and  blood  same  as  us  ?  Or  is  she  some  bewitched 
thing  come  in  to  us  from  the  sea?"  Then  her  own 
injustice  lashed  her.  "  Oh,  'tis  me  that's  wicked  !  Poor 
maid  !  poor,  friendless  maid  ! " 

"All  in  darkness  you  folks?"  The  voice  was  Peter's, 
coming  in,  cheerful  and  ordinary,  with  a  rattle  of  the 
door  latch  and  a  clatter  of  his  thick  boots  on  the  stones, 
striking  at  Mary's  nervous  fancies  and  bringing  her 
thoughts  back  to  common-sense  and  supper.  So  she 
moved  quickly  about  her  kitchen,  with  some  answering 
cheerfulness,  forcing  back  her  fears  as  she  lighted  the 
candles  and  began  to  set  the  table.  And  Peter,  after 
throwing  a  tangle  of  gorse  upon  the  hearth,  rested  on 
the  settle  and  spread  his  great  hands  to  the  blaze, 

"  An'  how  'bout  the  lessons,  'Zekiel ;  do  'em  go 
forward  ?  "  he  asked  with  a  sly  chuckle. 

'Zekiel  leaned  his  chin  on  his  hand  and  looked  gravely 
into  the  leaping  flame  of  Peter's  raising.  "  'Tis  a  terrible 
thing  is  a  foreign  tongue,"  he  answered  slowly.  "  'Tis 
worse  than  oceans  of  water,  or  leagues  of  land,  for 
gettin'  to  the  other  side  of." 

"I've  a-heard,"  declared  Peter  with  a  laugh,  "that  'tis 
bad  for  a  teacher  to  go  puttin'  too  much  heart  in  his 
work ;  'tis  apt  to  clog  the  head." 


A    SPAmSH   MAID  87 

"  'Tis  apt  to  break  the  heart,  I'm  thinkin',"  murmured 
'Zekiel. 

"  Master  Humphrey's  home,  Peter,"  interrupted  Mary, 
coming  forward  to  hft  a  saucepan  from  the  hearth. 

"Yes,  I've  been  a-talkin'  with  him,"  said  Peter.  "I 
met  him  on  the  hill  a  while  ago,  light-hearted  as  ever. 
He  don't  seem  to  sober  down  much  with  his  travels,  ii 
we  may  go  by  the  looks  of  him." 

"We've  been  thinkin',  'Zekiel  an'  me,"  continued 
Mary,  "that  maybe  he  would  be  so  kind  as  to  speak 
with  Teresa  in  her  own  words,  an'  hear  what  she's  got  to 
tell — all  about  where  she  conies  from,  an'  who's  her 
folks,  an'  the  like  of  that — for,  I  make  no  doubt,  he'll 
have  an  understandin'  of  what  they  talk  over  in  those 
parts." 

Peter  looked  across  at  Teresa  with  the  laugh  on  his 
lips  still,  which  had  been  spent,  so  far,  on  'Zekiel ;  and 
Teresa,  who  caught  the  words  "  Master  Humphrey,"  and 
remembered,  knew  that  they  were  talking  of  the  happy- 
faced  stranger-man  and  of  herself,  and  her  eyes  glowed 
as  they  met  Peter's.  The  coastguard  looked  at  her 
long  and  steadily  and  his  face  slowly  changed  and  grew 
grave. 

"  'Tis   a    powerful    pretty  face ! "   he   murmured,  "  a 

powerful  pretty  face  !     A  man "     The  words  trailed 

off  into    silence,   but    still    he   sat    and    looked,   and. 


88  A    SPANISH  MAID 

without  stirring  a  muscle,  the  girl  held  his  will,  and 
her  own  eyes  were  inscrutable. 

"  Peter ! "  It  was  Mary's  voice,  low  and  trembling, 
as  she  saw  the  fixed  look  in  her  man's  eyes,  and, 
shuddering  at  the  spell  which  seemed  to  lurk  in  the 
girl's  lashes,  came  to  lay  her  hand  upon  his  shoulder. 
"Peter,  come  'fore  to  supper  now,  my  dear;  'tis  all 
ready."  And  Peter's  thoughts  were  too  far  away  to 
hear  that  her  voice  was  not  the  voice  of  a  happy 
woman. 

"P'raps  Master  Humphrey  will  be  able  to  help  her 

back  home  to  her  own  folks "  she  went  on  bravely, 

but  a  crash  from  'Zekiel's  fist  upon  the  table  slaughtered 
the  end  of  her  sentence,  and  brought  Peter  back  to 
his  senses. 

"Hullo,  'Zekiel !     What's  wrong  with  you?" 

"  I  didn'  go  for  to  do  it,"  muttered  'Zekiel  confusedly. 
"  I  wasn'  thinkin'." 

"You'm  a  bit  heavy-handed  when  you'm  light  of 
mind,  then.  What  was  you  a-saying',  Mary,  before  he 
let  his  fingers  fall  ? " 

"That  maybe  Master  Humphrey  would  be  able  to 
help  Teresa  to  get  back  home  to  her  own  folks." 

"Maybe  he  would,"   Peter  agreed  quietly,  "an' 

maybe  'twould  be  for  the  best  that  she  should  go, 
poor   young   maid !      Come,"   he    added,    in    his   own 


A    SPANISH  MAID  89 

cheerful  voice,  as  he  roused  himself,  and  rose  from 
the  settle,  "let's  get  to  supper.  I'm  mortal  hungry. 
Come,  'Zekiel,  draw  'fore  your  chair;  we'll  give  'ee 
the  run  of  your  teeth  to-night,  if  you've  a  mind  to  try 
the  power  of  'em." 

'Zekiel  drew  forward  his  chair  at  Peter's  bidding, 
but  the  "run  of  his  teeth"  that  night  was  inconsider- 
able. His  hunger  lay  in  his  heart,  and,  in  such  a 
case,  it  is  the  guest  who  pays  the  price,  not  the 
host. 

When  'Zekiel  had  at  last  said  "  Good-night,"  and 
had  closed  the  door  between  himself  and  Teresa's 
re-born  graciousness,  he  turned  to  the  dim,  still  night, 
and  the  keen  air  seemed  to  whip  at  his  eyelids  and 
wake  him  from  a  dream.  He  stood  still  and  bore  it 
for  a  while  and  then  he  turned  and  walked  slowly 
down  the  hill.  But  when  he  neared  Betty's  cottage 
it  seemed  impossible  that  he  should  go  in,  and  shut 
himself  between  four  little  walls,  and  make-believe  that 
he  wanted  to  sleep.  The  imprisonment  looked  hateful 
as  he  thought  of  it,  and  he  felt  as  if  he  should  never 
sleep  again.  Instead  of  walking  on  down  the  street, 
he  passed  along  by  the  back  garden,  and  then  struck 
upwards,  and  climbed  the  cliff  hill  until  he  stood 
again  where  he  and  Teresa  had  stood  that  after- 
noon. 


90  A    SPANISH    MAID 

"  What's  the  good  of  it  all  ?  "  he  questioned,  and  his 
boy-heart  seemed  bursting  with  his  passion  and  despair 
as  he  flung  himself  down  on  the  short  grass.  "What's 
to  be  the  end  of  it  all !  Can  a  man  fall  on  the  ground 
and  pray  a  maid  to  give  herself  to  him  when  he  can't 
so  much  as  give  her  the  time  of  day  in  words  plain 
to  her  understandin'?  Why  did  she  ever  come  nigh 
these  parts?  Why  did  I  go  down  the  cliff  an'  look 
upon  her  face  ? "  Then  he  paused,  for  the  passion  in 
his  heart  beat  at  his  throat  as  if  to  stun  the  words 
for  traitors. 

But,  in  time,  solitude  and  the  night  helped  the  boy 
to  be  more  god-like.  As  he  lay  there,  with  the  great 
dark  dome  over  him,  and  the  slow  "  plash !  plash  ! "  of 
the  sea  sounding  in  his  ears,  the  pain  ebbed  away 
from  him,  as  if  drawn  by  the  out-going  tide,  leaving 
only  an  indistinct  sadness  as  its  scar.  For  many 
minutes  he  lay  there  with  his  brain  empty  of  thought, 
either  of  trouble  or  joy — a  motionless  body  with  a 
blanched  mind — only  conscious  that,  in  the  wash  of  the 
waves  there  was  a  great  peace,  and  that  to  move  might 
be  to  bring  back  pain. 

So  the  minutes  passed  away  and  he  feared  to 
stir. 

It  was  the  bark  of  a  dog  which  roused  him  at  last, 
and  he  sat  up  and  gripped  his  hands  round  his  knees, 


A    SPANISH   MAID  91 

and  waited  for  the  back  flow  of  the  misery ;  but  in 
mercy  the  turn  of  that  tide  was  slow.  He  was  feeling 
the  soothing,  the  wonderful  great  peace,  which  lies  in 
the  hollow  of  the  hand  of  Night,  and  his  heart  was  as 
a  palimpsest  from  which  she  had  wiped  the  old  pain- 
words  away,  and  on  which,  for  a  while  at  least, 
were  written  only  letters  spelling  patience  and  a 
wonderful  gratitude. 

"I'm  glad  she  came,"  he  thought  slowly.  "I  was 
lyin'  when  I  said  I  wasn'.  I'm  glad  she  came ;  an' 
I'm  glad  'twas  me  as  first  went  to  her.  I've  a-held 
her  in  my  arms,  an' 1  can  bear  what's  to  come." 

Again  came  the  sharp  bark  of  a  dog,  and  this  time 
it  was  closer  to  his  ear.  Turning  his  face  inland 
'Zekiel  saw  through  the  dimness  the  wriggling  body  of 
a  small,  white  animal,  with  the  dark  form  of  a  man 
following  close  behind  it. 

"  Any  one  there  ?  "  inquired  a  voice  sharply. 

"'Tis  only  me.  Master  Humphrey;  me — 'Zekiel 
Myners." 

"  Hullo,  'Zekiel ;  you  coastguarding,  too  ?  " 

"  No,  sir ;  only  watching  the  water  a  bit  before  I  go 
back  home." 

"  Dreaming,  'Zekiel  ?  " 

"  No,  sir ;  I  dunno  as  I  was." 

Master  Humphrey  came  and  sat  down  on  the  turf  by 


92 


A    SPANISH   MAID 


'Zekiel's  side  and  tapped  the  ashes  from  his  pipe,  while 
the  white  dog  sat  sturdily  on  his  haunches  and  looked 
out  towards  the  sea,  whining  now  and  again  as  he  felt 
the  keenness  of  the  night  breeze. 

"  Much  been  happening  in  these  parts  since  I  was 
here  last  ?  "  asked  Master  Humphrey,  as  he  slowly  filled 
his  pipe  again. 

"  No,  sir ;  nothin'  much  to  speak  of.  Just  a  few  of  the 
old  people  died  ofiF,  and  a  few  young  ones  come,  an'  a 
brave  many  stormy  days  an'  nights,  but  they  happen 
along  every  year  ;  'tisn'  no  news  to  tell  of  a  storm." 

"  And  Mary — is  she  all  safe  and  sound  ?  " 

"  Mary's  all  right,  sir,  bless  her  heart !  Married  since 
you  left  Landecarrock,  an'  she's  got  a  fine  boy  of  her 
own,  sir,  too.     She's  livin'  up  at  the  new  cottage  on  the 

hill,  she  an'  Peter,  an "  'Zekiel  hesitated,  "  an'  the 

stranger." 

"  What  stranger  is  that  ?  "  Master  Humphrey  asked,  a 
trifle  indifferently. 

"  Her  you  saw  with  me  to-day,  sir.  Her  you  said  was 
a  Spanish  maid." 

"  Ah  yes,  I  was  forgetting."  There  was  fresh  interest 
in  Master  Humphrey's  voice  now.  "  However  did  she 
get  to  Landecarrock  of  all  places  in  the  world  ?  Where 
does  she  spring  from,  and  what  is  she  doing  here  ?  " 

"Ah,   Master  Humphrey,  that's  more'n  we  can  tell. 


A    SPANISH   MAID  93 

Who  the  maid  is,  an'  where  she  comes  from,  is  things  we 
don't  know ;  they'm  as  far  from  us  now  as  they  was  the 
day  she  came  to  us,  more'n  two  months  ago." 

"  But  who  brought  her  ?     Why  does  she  stay  ?  " 

"  Nobody  brought  her,  sir,  not  as  they'd  bring  a  livin', 
breathin'  human  bein'.  She  was  thrown  out  down 
there  on  Averaclc  beach  like  as  if  she  was  so  much 
jetsam,  an'  'twas  there  I  found  her." 

"What  does  it  mean,  'Zekiel?  Has  Landecarrock 
learned  new  ways  ?  I  don't  understand.  They  didn't  do 
these  things,  you  must  remember,  before  I  went  away." 

"Nobody  doesn'  understand,  sir.  'Tis  as  strange  to 
us  Landecarrock  folks  as  'tis  to  you.  But  I'll  tell  'ee 
from  the  beginning,  sir,  if  you've  a  mind  to  hear." 

And  there,  on  the  same  spot,  his  wild  eyes  conjured 
up  the  scene  again,  and  in  a  low,  passion-charged  voice 
he  put  it  into  words,  and  made  Master  Humphrey  see 
it,  too.  And  the  tale  was  so  real  and  the  boy's  heart  so 
full,  and  his  words  so  wonderful  that  it  seemed  as  if  the 
black  ship  lay  again  under  the  cHff  waiting  for  her  boat 
to  do  its  work,  and  that  they  could  almost  hear  her 
straining  hawsers,  and  the  water  lapping  against  her 
sides,  with  only  the  blackness  of  the  night  hiding  her 
from  their  eyes. 

"An'  that's  every  word  we  know,"  declared  'Zekiel 
when  his  tale  was  told.     "There,  on   Averack  beach, 


94  A    SPANISH   MAID 

I  come  upon  her,  an'  me  an'  Mary  brought  her  back 
home." 

"  'Tis  a  strange  tale,  'Zekiel,"  said  Master  Humphrey 
musingly.     "  What  does  the  girl  herself  say  about  it  ?  " 

"That's  the  worst  bit  of  all,  sir.  She  doesn'  say 
nothin',  or  we  never  get  to  know  nothin',  for  we  can't 
none  of  us  make  out  a  word  she  talks." 

There  was  a  pause  when  'Zekiel  had  finished  speaking, 
while  Master  Humphrey  fell  to  thinking  of  the  face  of 
the  girl  who  had  stumbled  into  his  arms  a  few  hours 
before.  She  seemed,  in  very  truth,  to  have  the  knack  of 
banishing  every-day  modes  of  thought  and  action  he 
decided,  and  he  smiled  unconsciously.  'Zekiel,  too,  was 
remembering  the  afternoon's  meeting,  and  the  throbs  of 
the  old  pain  stirred  again  at  his  heart. 

It  was  then  that  with  the  suffering  a  new  thought 
came  swiftly  to  him,  and  his  face  grew  hot  in  the  dark- 
ness and  his  hands  quivered.  Twice  he  tried  to  speak, 
but  the  weight  of  his  words  shackled  his  tongue. 

•'  Master  Humphrey,"  he  broke  out  at  last,  "  I'm 
wonderin',  would  you  be  so  kind  as  to  do  a  great  thing 
for  me — a  real  big  thing  ?  " 

There  was  awe  in  his  voice,  and  Master  Humphrey's 
first  impulse  was  to  laugh  at  him  for  his  solemn  way ; 
but  somehow,  when  'Zekiel,  stirred  from  his  ordinary 
respect,  laid  a  shaking  hand  upon  his  squire's  sleeve,  and 


A    SPANISH   MAID  95 

leaned  towards  him  in  a  great  earnestness,  he  felt  that 
a  laugh  would  be  a  cruelty,  and  he  answered  gravely. 
"  I'll  do  anything  I  can  to  help  you,  and  do  it  gladly, 
you  may  be  sure  of  that,  'Zekiel." 

"  Learn  me  her  talk,  sir,"  he  cried.  "  Learn  me  so 
that  I  can  speak  with  her.  I'd  slave,  an'  slave,  an' 
slave !  Oh,  Master  Humphrey,  if  only  I  could  get 
to  her  through  those  cursed,  heathenish  words !  If 
only  I  could  !  " 

"Ah,"  thought  Master  Humphrey,  "that's  how  it  is 
with  him,  poor  'Zekiel ! "  But'  aloud  he  said  cheerfully, 
as  if  the  learning  of  a  language  were  a  mere  bagatelle, 
"  Learn  you  !  Of  course  I  will.  Spanish  talk  isn't 
altogether  child's  play,  but  come  to  me  when  you've  an 
hour  or  so  to  spare  and  we'll  try.  You're  too  strong  a 
fellow  to  be  beaten  by  a  lot  of  heathenish  words." 

"  'Twould  be  a  mighty  thing  for  me,  sir.  You  don't 
know  how  mighty  a  thing  'twould  be,"  said  'Zekiel, 
his  voice  deepening  to  indistinctness  as  he  tried  to 
steady  it. 

"  I  think  I  do,"  Master  Humphrey  thought  a  while 
later,  as  he  and  his  little  white  dog  walked  slowly  back  to 
big,  lonely  Pensallas  in  the  valley. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

T%yr ASTER  HUMPHREY  sat  before  the  fire  in  the 
-*-*-^  small  terrace  room.  He  always  came  to  an 
anchorage  in  the  small  terrace  room  when  he  lived  at 
Pensallas  alone.  He  had  tried  very  often  to  live  in  the 
bigger  rooms  as  he  had  done  when  the  old  squire  was 
alive,  but  he  always  drifted  away  from  them  in  about  half- 
an-hour  and  found  himself  back  again  in  the  small  terrace 
room.  He  thought,  when  he  troubled  to  think  of  it 
at  all,  that  it  was  because  the  smaller  room  was  about 
the  only  one  which  was  not  lined  with  family  portraits. 
Master  Humphrey  admired  his  family's  portraits  as 
some  folks  admire  their  family  tree,  because  it  is  their 
family  tree,  and  not  as  a  specimen  of  arboriculture — the 
portraits  might  not  be  of  Greek-god  pattern,  but  they 
were  of  his  ancestors.  He  also  reverenced  them, 
because  he  had  begun  life  reverencing  them.  But  the 
family  portraits  made  Master  Humphrey  feel  lonely 
now,  they  were  so  many,  all  paint  and  canvas  together, 

96 


A   SPAN/SI/  MAID  97 

and  he  was  one  to  himself;  he  felt  that  he  almost 
owed  them  an  apology  for  being  alive  and  intrusive, 
and  the  desolate  feeling  lowered  his  spirits.  There- 
fore, finding  the  truth  of  the  saying,  that  "  one  is 
never  so  lonely  as  in  a  crowd,"  he  avoided  the  crowd 
and  left  it  to  itself  in  silence  and  darkness. 

On  this  evening,  the  second  since  he  had  galloped 
back  from  his  wanderings,  he  lounged  before  his  fire 
with  his  feet  stretched  to  the  warm  stone  coping  round 
the  hearth,  fitting  them  to  the  hollows  worn  long  ago 
by  resting  cavaliers  or  Elizabeth's  adventurer-seamen, 
as  they  told  of  their  past  successes  and  failures,  and 
hatched  more  for  the  future.  His  head  rested  on 
the  flamboyant  patterned  damask  of  his  favourite 
chair,  and  his  eyes  were  turned  upwards  in  lazy  con- 
templation of  the  carving  on  the  over-mantel,  where 
the  fruits  and  grains  of  the  earth  twined  themselves 
sociably  into  a  wreathing  display  of  plenty  with  a  fine 
disregard  of  seasonableness,  while  thin  clouds  of 
tobacco  smoke  rose  as  incense  to  the  little  painted 
gods  sprawling  across  the  ceiling.  Dame  Tellam  was 
treading  about  the  room,  piling,  with  her  own  hands, 
fresh  logs  upon  the  hearth,  and  lighting  the  candles 
on  the  mantelpiece;  for  an  extra  gossip  with  the  boy, 
grown  man,  was  worth  a  risk  of  dignity. 

"Am  I  forgiven,   nurse,  for  scaring  you  out  of  your 

G 


98  A    SPANISH   MAID 

wits — dropping  from  the  skies  into  your  linen-covered 
rooms?"  asked  Master  Humphrey  at  the  end  of  a 
long,  spiral  whiff  of  smoke. 

Dame  Tellam  had  been  Master  Humphrey's  nurse 
in  the  days  when  he  had  been  too  young  to  revolt 
against  such  a  functionary,  and  though  promoted 
many  years  ago  to  housekeepership,  she  was  always 
"  nurse  "  to  him  in  private  and  when  her  dignity  could 
not  suffer,  as  he  was  always  "Master  Humphrey"  to 
her.  But,  indeed,  he  was  "  Master  Humphrey "  to 
most  folks  in  Landecarrock,  for  they  found  it  hard 
to  believe  that  the  "  darin'  little  mortal,"  who  had  so 
often  scuttled  secretly  from  Pensallas  down  to  the 
waterside,  defying  and  cajoling  them  all  by  turns,  was 
now  a  man  grown  and  their  own  squire. 

"  Yes,  Master  Humphrey,  I  don't  bear  no  malice, 
in  heart.  Women-folks  do  like  things  to  be  all  fitty 
when  anybody  comes,  but,  bless  your  soul !  I've  grown 
to  expect  'ee  when  I  see  'ee  now,  sir,  an'  the  coverin's 
was  all  clean  as  new  pins,  so  I  wasn'  ashamed.  An' 
if  your  dinner  wasn'  such  as  I  could  have  wished  it, 
why,  I  knew  'twas  nobody's  fault  but  your  own,  sir, 
an'  that's  a  brave  bit  of  comfort  to  a  woman's  mind." 

Master  Humphrey  chuckled. 

"  I  was  always  a  graceless  scamp,  nurse,  and  I  verily 
believe   you   were   glad   to   see    I   hadn't   changed   my 


A    SPANISH  MAID  99 

ways.  But,  to  tell  truth,  I  was  tired  of  roaming  for 
a  while,  and  I  wanted  to  see  how  the  old  place  was 
looking.  You  know  the  feeling  I  get?  I  used  to  have 
it  just  the  same  when  I  was  a  little  man  in  frocks — 
must  drop  everything  and  run  home  to  see  how  some- 
body, or  something,  was  looking." 

"  I  mind  it  well,  sir,  and  I  hope  as  how  you  find 
the  old  place  to  your  mind  after  your  long  spell  in 
foreign  parts  ?  " 

"The  old  place  is  all  right,"  said  Master  Humphrey, 
with  a  smile  and  a  half-sigh,  "but  I  see  some  changes 
about  here  and  there." 

"  'Twould  be  a  wonder  if  you  didn',  sir." 

"  The  boys  and  girls  have  grown  up,  nurse.  Have  I 
grown  as  fast  as  they  have?" 

"  You  ain't  one  for  agein'  fast  yourself,  sir ;  but  boys 
an'  maids  will  grow,  no  matter  whether  you  turn  your 
head  the  other  way  or  no ;  an'  then  comes  the  courtin', 
an'  the  marryin' — plenty  of  that,  sir,  do  what  you 
will." 

"  Pretty  Mary  Myners  married,  fancy  that ! "  said 
Master  Humphrey  meditatively.  "  I  knew  Peter  wanted 
her.  Good  Peter,  he  deserved  her.  But  'Zekiel,  nurse 
— what  has  happened  to  'Zekiel  ?  " 

"  He's  mazed,  sir — mazed,  an'  nothin'  else !  An'  all 
on  account  of  that  foreign  maid  as  he  got  from  the  sea," 


loo  A    SPANISH  MAID 

"  He  was  telling  me  of  her  yesterday.  It's  a  strange 
tale ! " 

"Strange!  Master  Humphrey,  'tis  worse  than 
strange;  an'  I  say  as  no  good  '11  ever  come  of  it. 
There's  somethin'  about  that  maid  that — well,  I  don't 
know  what  'tis — but  it  gives  me  the  shivers.  I  declare 
to  goodness,  if  I  meet  that  maid  in  the  village,  an' 
she  turns  them  great  burnin'  eyes  on  me,  I  feel  for  all 
the  world  as  if  my  bones  was  turned  watery  an'  wouldn' 
so  much  as  bear  my  weight;  an'  if  I've  got  a  thing 
in  my  hand — from  a  basket  of  eggs  to  my  Bible — I'm 
like  to  drop  it  an'  stand  glarin'  at  her  like  a  great 
conger.  'Tis  as  if  she'd  draw  the  heart  out  of  a  body, 
an'  make  it  forget  everythin',  be  it  errands  or  God.  I 
can't  abide  the  maid;  an'  that  poor  lad  'Zekiel  has 
gone  ten  years  older  since  he  picked  her  up." 

"You  see,  she's  different  from  the  maidens  he's 
known  hereabouts  all  his  hfe,"  protested  Master 
Humphrey. 

"Thanks  be  to  the  Lord  !  you'm  right,  sir.  I  wouldn' 
have  our  village  maids  goin'  about  in  that  there 
heathenish  dress,  an'  with  them  great  black  eyes  for 
whatever.  No,  sir;  Landecarrock  maids  are  clear- 
skinned  and  modest-eyed,  as  a  rule,  an'  content  with 
a  decent,  sober  petticoat  an'  bodice ;  but  they  didn' 
seem  to  suit  'Zekiel  Myners,  howsoever." 


<P\ 


A   SPANISH  MAID  loi 

"  Poor  'Zekiel !  "  murmured  Master  Humphrey. 

"  Poor  'Zekiel !  you'm  right,  sir.  'Tis  a  bad  day's 
work  for  a  man  when  he  takes  to  a  creature  as  comes 
from  the  water;  he's  safe  to  get  some  harm  from  it. 
An'  when  'tis  some  outlandish  maiden  as  is  brought  to 
shore,  I'm  thinkin'  'tis  worst  of  all." 

"You  mustn't  be  too  hard  on  her,  nurse.  She  is 
but  flesh  and  blood,"  again  the  squire  protested. 

"  I  hope  you'm  right,  sir,"  said  the  dame  grimly, 
with  a  doubtful  shake  of  her  cap  ribbons,  "but  I've 
known  flesh  an'  blood  do  a  deal  of  mischief  before 
now."  And  with  this  profound  opinion,  and  a  final 
poke  at  the  logs,  Dame  Tellam  left  the  room, 
for  there  was  flesh  and  blood  in  Pensallas  kitchen, 
and,  though  home-grown,  a  watchful  eye  was  never 
amiss. 

Master  Humphrey  was  in  a  mood  of  lazy  content- 
ment, for  a  long  day  in  a  small  boat,  cutting  through 
the  waves — grey  waves  with  white  caps  to  them — with 
the  tiller  in  one's  stiffening  hand  and  the  cold  spray 
on  one's  face,  is  apt  to  make  a  man  think  he  has 
done  hard  work  when  he  gets  back  to  dry  warmth 
and  thinks  about  it.  And  Master  Humphrey  stretched 
his  inches — a  considerable  number,  from  the  head  on 
the  damask,  to  the  feet  on  the  stone-coping — and  he 
ruffled  his   short  curls — curls  that  were  fair,  with  that 


102  A    SPANISH  MAID 

ruddy  shine  on  them  which  is  less  annoying  in  man- 
hood than  in  youth — and  he  felt  commonplacedly  happy. 

There  followed  a  long,  drowsy  silence ;  even  the 
logs  had  given  over  snapping  at  the  flames  and  the 
wind  outside  had  dropped.  Pensallas  House  boasted 
no  ghost  to  wander  about  knocking  at  panels  or 
clanking  chains.  The  plots  which  had  been  hatched 
inside  its  walls  had  all  been  good,  solid,  human  plots ; 
perhaps  a  superabundance  of  loyalty  or  lawlessness 
may  have  run  through  them,  but  there  was  nothing 
ethereal  or  mystic  about  them ;  therefore,  when 
Master  Humphrey's  thoughts,  after  wandering  from  fish 
to  men,  and  from  'Zekiel  Myners  to  Ursula  Swayn,  were 
suddenly  disturbed  by  a  low,  determined  tapping  at 
his  window,  they  did  not  fly  to  spirits  or  wraiths ;  he 
merely  felt  surprise,  and  turned  to  face  the  unshuttered 
window,  trying  to  pierce  the  outer  darkness  from  his 
position  by  the  hearth.  But  there  was  no  shape  or 
form  to  be  seen  through  the  glass,  and,  deciding  that 
the  sound  was  but  the  striking  of  a  twig  against  the 
pane  he  turned  again  to  the  fire.  No  sooner  had 
he  done  this  than  the  tapping  was  repeated;  then  he 
rose  and  went  to  the  window,  and,  opening  it,  asked 
quietly,  "Who's  there?" 

The  window  was  a  deep  one  opening  to  the  ground, 
and  as  Master  Humphrey  stood,  holding  the  casement 


A   SPANISH  MAID  103 

wide  with  one  hand,  a  slight  scarlet  figure  came  forward 
quickly  out  of  the  darkness  and  stepped  into  the  room ; 
and  he  saw  that  it  was  the  Spanish  girl. 

For  a  few  moments  there  was  silence,  and  Master 
Humphrey  still  held  the  open  casement  and  wondered. 
But  as  the  girl  stood  confronting  him,  with  quick  eyes 
and  flushed  face,  her  breast  heaving  from  a  hurried 
flight,  and  her  scarlet  shawl  wound  about  her,  there 
was  in  her  such  an  incongruous  blending  of  daring  and 
childish  apology,  that  amusement  rose  above  the 
wonder,  and,  without  a  word,  he  drew  her  farther  into 
the  room,  closed  the  casement,  and  shut  out  the  night 
with  the  heavy  tapestry  curtain. 

"And  what  is  it  all  about?"  he  asked,  slipping 
naturally  into  Spanish  at  the  sight  of  her. 

"Was  it — wrong?"  she  whispered  between  her 
short  breaths,  as  she  stood  hesitating — yet  with  a  defiant 
laugh  in  her  eyes — half-way  towards  the  fire. 

"  Terribly  wrong  ! "  he  declared  with  mock  solemnity, 
and  an  answering  smile  in  his  eyes.  "  But  come  and 
be  warm,  you  cold  little  mortal ! "  he  added,  as  he 
took  her  hand  in  his  own  and  felt  that  it  was  stiff" 
and  ice-cold  from  the  frosty  night. 

"  Ah  ! "  she  wailed  peevishly,  "  I  am  ever  cold  here  in 
these  miles  and  miles  of  everlasting  twilight.  Winds,  and 
land,  and  people  are  cold ;   all  cold— cold  as  death  !  " 


104  A    SPANISH  MAID 

"  You  say  that ! "  he  protested,  somewhat  gravely. 
"The  friends  you  have  met  have  warm  hearts,  at  any 
rate." 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders  and  lifted  her  brows 
with  a  finished  contempt  better  befitting  an  absolute 
monarch  than  a  friendless  waif  from  the  sea. 

"Well,"  he  persisted,  "is  not  Peter  Ludgven  as 
open-handed  and  good-hearted  a  fellow  as  ever  trod 
God's  earth  ?  And  Mary — is  not  she  kind  and  gentle  ?  " 
She  shrugged  her  shoulders  again  impatiently  at  each 
question.  "  And  then  'Zekiel  ?  "  he  went  on  ;  "  what  of 
'Zekiel  ?  "  and  he  smiled  and  waited  for  her  answer. 

"Ah,  'Zekiel!  persistently  'Zekiel!"  she  cried,  with 
a  quick  frown  and  a  stamp  of  her  foot.  "  It  is 
because  of  'Zekiel  that  I  am  here  with  you  to-night." 

"  Because  of  'Zekiel !     What  of  him  ?  " 

"You  are  teaching  him  my  language,"  she  cried,  and 
she  stamped  her  foot  again,  finding  that  the  action 
emphasised    her    feeHngs.     "I    do    not   wish    him    to 

know   my  language.     I — I "   her  eyes   fell   with   a 

show  of  demureness  beneath  the  question  in  his,  and 
she  added  softly,  "  I  like  him  better — as  he  is." 

Master  Humphrey  stood  still  and  looked  at  her, 
and  for  a  moment  he  made  no  comment.  Then  he 
laid  his  pipe  upon  the  table  and  took  her  hand  again. 

"Come,"   he   said    courteously,    "come,    and    sit   by 


A   SPANISH  MAID  105 

the  fire,"  and  he  drew  forward  another  chair  beside 
his  own  and  placed  her  in  it.  "Now,  tell  me,  why 
do  you  wish  that  the  poor  fellow  should  not  learn 
your  Spanish  talk  ?  " 

"I  do  not  wish  it,  and,  therefore,  I  do  not  wish 
it ;  that  is  enough  for  me,"  she  exclaimed  passionately. 
"It  should  also  be  enough  for  you — for  him.  Why 
should  he  learn  if  I  do  not  wish  it  ?  " 

"There  m.ight  be  a  reason,"  returned  Master 
Humphrey  quietly,  as  he  watched  the  blaze  and  tried 
to  realise  this  logic. 

"But  you  will  not  teach  him,  now  that  I  have 
told  you  that  I  do  not  wish  it — that  I  hate  it?"  She 
waited  for  his  answer,  but  Master  Humphrey  was  silent. 

"You  will  not  teach  him  now — now  that  I  forbid 
it  ? "  she  demanded. 

"  Yes,"  he  persisted  quietly. 

"  But  the  thought  of  it  is  hateful  to  me,"  she  broke 
out.  "  I  shall  suffer  to  hear  him  speak  with  his 
coarse  voice.  I  shall  be  mad,  wild,  enraged,  when 
I  must  listen  to  him.  Now  I  am  free  from  him  if  I 
wish ;  but  when  he  knows  my  own  words  then  he  will 
pester  me,  he  will  pain  me " 

"Do  you  never  pain  him?" 

She  looked  at  him,  astonished.  "Perhaps,"  she 
repHed.     "  What  of  it  ?  " 


io6  A    SPANISH  MAID 

"  Oh  !  nothing.  No  doubt  our  notions  of  fair  play 
are  wide  apart." 

"But  you  will  do  what  I  wish?" 

"  No  ;  I  have  promised  to  teach  him." 

"  I  hate  you ! "  she  panted,  sitting  upright  in  the 
deep  chair,  and  turning  on  him  furiously. 

Master  Humphrey  laughed.  "Oh,  no,  you  must 
not  hate  me,  that  would  give  7}ie  pain.  I  like  pain  as 
little  as  you  do." 

She  paused,  and  again  she  looked  at  him  astonished. 

"You  are  a  strange  man,"  she  declared,  "but  all 
Enghshmen  —  you  are  English  ?  —  are  not  as  you 
are." 

"No,"  he  answered,  "most  Englishmen,  and  women, 
too,  take  pain  as  it  comes  and  don't  grumble;  but, 
you  see,  I  am  more  as  you  are.  I  cannot  allow  it 
to  come  to  me." 

"Will  you  be  unamiable  then?  Are  you  obstinate? 
Do  you  mean  to  teach  this  rough  fisherman  my  own 
speech  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  he  answered  slowly,  keeping  his  eyes  on  the 
blazing  logs  that  he  might  not  look  on  her  face.  "  He 
wishes  to  learn ;  I  wish  to  help,  when  I  can,  and — 
I  have  promised." 

He  waited  for  the  outbreak  of  her  wrath,  but  she 
remained  quite  still. 


A   SPANISH  MAID 


107 


And  the  logs,  weary  of  resisting  the  blaze,  gaped 
and  fell  apart,  and  the  flames  leaped  up  in  triumph ; 
the  clock  by  the  door  ticked  off  its  slow  seconds  into 
the  great  maw  of  that  past  which  is  never  satisfied ; 
and  still  the  girl  was  silent. 

After  a  while  this  silence  which  had,  in  its  beginning, 
been  a  reUef,  began  to  be  irksome.  Master  Humphrey 
chafed  under  it,  and  a  great  desire  filled  him  to  hear 
the  girl's  voice  again ;  he  wanted  her  to  speak,  even 
if  she  were  angry.  He  found,  too,  that  he  wanted 
to  look  at  her.  Though  he  had  turned  his  eyes  to 
the  fire  that  he  might  not  see  her  furious  at  his 
words,  he  felt,  now,  that  he  wanted  to  see  her  face 
with  the  anger  on  it,  and  he  turned  his  eyes  from 
the  fire  again  and  looked  at  her. 

But  she,  too,  was  looking  into  the  flames,  and  her 
face  was  thoughtful,  not  angry. 

Master  Humphrey  took  courage  from  the  sight,  and 
with   a   light   little   laugh   he   ventured    to    break    the 

silence.      "  I    am   sorry  that  it  troubles  you,  but " 

and  he  leaned  towards  her  with  mischief  in  his  eyes, 
"you  will  be  grateful  to  me  when  you  hear  how 
eloquent  he  grows." 

She  slowly  withdrew  her  eyes  from  the  fire  and  looked 
at  him  absently,  then  again  she  turned  thoughtfully 
to   the   flames,    while   he    watched    her    curiously   and 


io8  A    SPANISH  MAW 

wondered  as  to  her  next  mood — and  the  length  of  her 
visit. 

At  last  she  raised  her  eyes  to  him  again ;  and  she  was 
really  wonderfully  attractive  in  this  softened  mood, 
with  the  firelight  trembling  on  her. 

"  Is  'Zekiel  the  only  one  you  care  for  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,"  he  laughed.  "  I  care,  in  some  measure, 
for  every  one." 

"  Will  you  trouble  yourself  for  me,  also  ?  " 

He  bowed  his  head  low  in  answer.  "  What  shall  it 
be  ?  What  shall  I  do  ?  Shall  I  build  a  boat  to  carry 
you  back  to  Spain  ?  " 

In  an  instant  the  softened  mood  was  gone,  the  girl's 
eyes  were  wild  and  flashing,  and  she  sprang  to  her  feet 
in  a  passion  of  rage. 

"  Carry  me  back  to  Spain  ! "  she  cried.  '^  How 
dare  you  !     How  dare  you  ! " 

"  I  do  not  dare,"  he  said,  raising  his  hands  in  mock 
terror  to  shield  himself  from  her  fury. 

She  stood  trembling  before  him,  with  her  fingers 
clutching  at  her  shawl. 

"Come,"  he  said  soothingly.  "Don't  be  angry.  I 
would  not  force  you  back  to  Spain.  I  thought  you 
were  yearning  for  warmer  skies,  and  longed  for  home. 
Tell  me  what  it  is  that  I  may  do  for  you." 

The  shock  of  his  words  had  struck  the  blood  from 


A   SPANISH  MAID  109 

her  face,  but  his  quiet  manner  now  calmed  her,  and 
she  answered  :  "  Teach  me  your  speech ;  that  is  what  I 
would  ask  of  you." 

Master  Humphrey  looked  at  the  gods  on  the  ceiling, 
for  he  felt  that  the  laughter,  which  would  creep  into  his 
eyes,  was  safer  in  that  direction. 

"  Never  before,"  he  declared,  "  have  I  set  forth  to 
instruct  the  young  in  any  manner  of  thing,  but  I  am 
not  the  man  to  shirk  blessings  when  they  fall." 

"  When  shall  I  come  to  you  ?  "  she  asked  eagerly. 

But  the  words  made  Master  Humphrey  somewhat 
thoughtful. 

"Perhaps,"  he  said  slowly,  "it  would  be  better  if 
you  did  not  come." 

She  looked  at  him,  wondering,  and  a  little  stern. 
"  Must  I  not  come  here  ?  " 

"Perhaps  it  would  be  better  if  you  did  not  come," 
he  repeated.  Then,  noticing  her  look  of  wonderment 
he  spoke  lightly:  "I  must  tell  you  that  the  old  lady 
who  guards  my  house  is  a  very  good  lady — a  very 
good  lady,  indeed — but,  for  some  mysterious  reason  she 
does  not  welcome  little  girls." 

"  I  am  no  little  girl,"  she  declared  haughtily. 

"I  may  say  she  does  not  welcome  big  girls  either. 
In  fact  there  are  very  few  sizes  she  can  bring  herself 
to  admit — and  yours  is  a  wrong  one.     Perhaps " 


no  A    SPANISH  MAW 

"  If  you  fear  your  house-woman  I  will  not  come," 
she  remarked  with  perfect  gravity.  "  I  cannot  make 
you  brave." 

And  Master  Humphrey  rose  from  his  chair  and 
looked  at  her  curiously. 

This  strange  girl  was  charming ;  so  unexpected  in 
her  ways  and  words ;  her  rage  and  her  smiles  of  such 
equal  excellence  ;  her  pleadings  and  her  petulance  of 
such  uncommon  interest.  He  was  finding  infinite 
entertainment  in  the  contemplation  of  her. 

Finding  her  host  grow  silent  under  her  contempt 
Teresa  turned  from  him  and  paced  the  room,  then 
she  sighed  and  forgot  her  contempt  and  cried  out 
in  pity  for  herself. 

"  I  must  go  back  to  the  narrow  cottage  and  shiver 
before  the  humble  hearth,  always  prisoned,  always 
cold.  Ah ! "  and  she  clasped  her  hands  dramati- 
cally, and  looked  about  her  in  appreciation.  "What 
would  I  not  give  for  such  a  home  as  this  ? " 

"  You  would  find  it  dark  and  lonely,"  he  remarked, 
roused  by  her  admiration. 

"No,  no;  I  would  fill  it  with  light  and  sound," 
she  declared. 

"You  might  obtain  more  light,  no  doubt,  with- 
out excessive  trouble,  but  you  would  find  it  a  hard 
task     to     fill     it    with    much     else     down     in     these 


A  SPANISH  MAID  m 

outlandish  parts.  Cheerful  folks  do  not  care  to 
come." 

"  They  would  come  for  me,"  she  affirmed. 

"  Ah !  I  beg  your  pardon ;  they  would  come,  of 
course,  for  you." 

"You  came." 

"  Yes,  I  came,  but — I  would  not  be  impolite — but  I 
did  not  come  for  you." 

"  Ah !  but  yes,"  she  turned  on  him  with  half-closed, 
smiling  eyes,  then  she  paused.  "It  was  one  day," 
she  went  on  slowly,  "I  walked  here  with  'Zekiel — 
rough  'Zekiel — and  I  saw  this,  your  castle,  all  empty 
and  closed,  and  I  looked  at  'Zekiel,  and  he  seemed 
yet  rougher  to  my  eyes,  and  I  said :  '  Oh  that  the 
prince  of  this  castle  would  return,'  and  then  I  said : 
'  The  prince  of  this  castle  shall  return.'  "  She  looked 
at  him  as  a  mischievous  child  might  look  when  fibbing 
for  the  sake  of  fun. 

"  Indeed  !  "  he  said,  in  mock  astonishment. 

"  And  you  came,"  she  concluded. 

"Yes — I  came,"  he  admitted;  and  for  a  moment  the 
remembrance  of  the  sudden  longing  for  home,  which 
had  gripped  him  in  that  dirty  little  Spanish  street,  came 
back  to  him. 

Teresa  had  left  his  side  and  was  gliding  about  the 
room,  peering  at  the  books,  and  the  statues,  and  the 


112  ^    SPANISH   MAID 

pictures,  softly  smoothing  the  rich  curtains,  testing  the 
comfort  of  the  chairs.  At  length  she  came  to  a  stand- 
still before  a  long,  bevelled  mirror,  and  the  gleam  of  it 
held  her  as  if  in  a  spell ;  unconsciously  she  turned 
from  side  to  side,  tipping  her  chin,  and  drooping  her 
lids,  lost  to  the  recollection  of  all  other  matters  in  sheer 
marvelHng  at  her  own  reflection. 

Master  Humphrey  stood  and  watched  her,  and  many 
minutes  passed  before  he  chose  to  interrupt  her 
satisfaction.  At  length  he  spoke.  "And  when  shall 
we  have  our  first  lesson  ?  "  he  asked  quietly. 

But  the  break  of  his  words  was  no  interruption  to 
her;  she  did  not  turn  from  the  contemplation  of  her 
raised  eyebrows,  which  happened  to  be  engrossing  her 
attention  at  the  moment;  she  scarcely  heard  his 
voice. 

"  They  would  come  for  me,"  she  murmured  absently, 
then  fell  to  silence  again. 

Master  Humphrey  still  watched  her,  in  smiling 
curiosity,  and  began  to  contemplate  the  situation. 
A  beautiful  maid  had  stepped  suddenly  out  of  the  dark 
night  into  his  home,  and  seemed  to  have  become 
lost  to  consciousness  of  the  necessity  of  departure  in 
her  appreciation  of  her  surroundings.  Time  was  pass- 
ing, in  the  methodical  way  it  had,  and  still  the  maid 
stood  there,  gravely,  before  the  mirror,  turning  her  head 


A   SPANISH  MAID  113 

from  side  to  side,  and  apparently  well  satisfied  to  con- 
tinue doing  so  for  some  time  to  come.  He  mildly 
wondered,  with  the  smile  lurking  in  his  eyes,  if  the 
rule  of  etiquette  had  yet  been  decided  upon  which 
applied  to  his  position  at  the  moment.  At  length  he 
raised  his  voice  and  spoke  again. 

"When    you    have    appreciated    it    to    your    entire 
satisfaction  perhaps  you  will  command  me." 

Then   she   started    and    faced   him,    and   there    was 
pleased  wonder  in  her  eyes. 

"  I  am  very  beautiful,"  she  said  solemnly. 

"You    are    right,"    he    agreed.       "Be    grateful    to 
Spain." 

Again  her  face  changed,  as  a  summer  scene  is  changed 
by  a  summer  storm. 

"Do  not  say  that!"  she  cried.     "Do  not  speak  of 
Spain  to  me !     It  is  hateful  to  me !     I  will  be  of  your 
people,    of  your  land,  though  it  is  gloomy,  and  grey, 
and  cold." 

"Then,  perhaps,  you  will  decide  upon  an  hour  in 
which  I  may  teach  you  its  language,"  he  remarked. 
To  him  she  seemed  as  a  specimen  of  uncurbed 
animal,  not  entirely  dangerous,  but  wild  enough  to 
prove  exciting. 

"  I  will  come  to  you,  by  the  sea,  to-morrow  morning 
— evening — when  you  will.     I  do  not  care," 

H 


114  ^    SPANISH  MAID 

"Ah! — perhaps  then — the  morning  would  be — better. 
Does  Peter  know  that  you  have  come  here  to- 
night ?  " 

"No,  no;  how  could  he  know?  I  could  not  tell 
him.  And  now,  must  I  go?  Must  I  go  from  all 
this  warmth,  and  beauty,  back  to  that  mean  little 
home  ?  " 

"  I  am  afraid  you  must,"  he  answered. 
She    went    to    the  window,  and,   holding   back   the 
curtain,  looked  out. 

"Ah!"  she  cried  in  terror,  "it  is  dark— dark  as 
a  grave.  I  am  fearful !  I  shall  die  of  fear.  I  cannot 
go !  I  cannot  put  my  foot  out  into  it,  and  walk 
through  those  black  paths." 

She  turned  to  him,  trembling,  and  laid  her  clinging 
hands  upon  his  sleeve. 

"Come,  come,"  he  said  soothingly,  holding  her  to 
him  closely,  as  one  would  hold  a  frightened  child, 
''there  is  no  reason  for  fear  or  dying.  We  are 
all  friendly  folk  in  these  parts.  But  I  will  take 
care  of  you,  little  coward!  You  shall  not  face  it 
alone." 

So  they  left  the  light  and  the  warmth,  and  they 
stepped  out  into  the  cold  darkness,  through  the 
window  by  which  the  girl  had  come.  And,  though 
she  still  clung  closely  to  Master   Humphrey's  arm  in 


A    SPANISH  MAID  115 

her  fear,  no  more  words  passed  between  them  until 
they  reached  the  village  street. 

It  was  here  that  Peter  Ludgven  met  them,  and 
Master  Humphrey,  recognising  him,  called  out :  "  Is 
that  you,  Ludgven  ?  " 

Peter  turned.     "  Yes,  Master  Humphrey." 

*'  I've  a  charge  to  hand  over  to  your  keeping,"  said  the 
squire  cheerfully.  "  This  child  is  fearful  of  the  dark,  so 
I  gave  myself  the  post  of  watch-dog." 

"You'm  very  good,  sir,"  said  Peter  slowly.  "I'm 
main  sorry  you  should  a-been  troubled,  sir." 

"Oh!  no  trouble;  don't  think  that.  Cold  night, 
Peter  ?  " 

"  Mortal  cold,  sir." 

"I'll  say  'good-night'  now,  then."  He  laid  his  hand 
firmly  on  Teresa's  which  still  gripped  his  sleeve,  and 
then  he  loosed  it  gently  and  gave  her  into  Peter's 
care. 

"  Good-night,  sir,  an'  thank  you  kindly,"  repHed  Peter. 
But  as  he  climbed  the  hill,  with  the  girl  by  his  side,  an 
uncomfortable  thought  crept  into  his  mind.  "Where's 
the  maid  been  ?  "  he  wondered.  "  How  did  she  come 
'pon  Master  Humphrey?      Master   Humphrey   seemed 

free   enough  about  the  matter — but   he  didn'  say " 

Thought  after  thought  drifted  through  Peter's  mind,  but 
the  thought  which  came  last  and  stayed  was  the  thought 


ii6  A    SPANISH  MAID 

which  had  come  the  first  time  he  had  set  eyes  on  her, 
that  morning  after  the  storm.  "She's  got  a  mortal 
pretty  face — a  mortal  pretty  face  !  " 

So  they,  too,  walked  on  in  silence  until  they  reached 
the  little  white  cottage,  and  Mary  came  hurrying  to  the 
door. 

"  Oh,  Peter,  Teresa's  never  come  back  !  She  started 
off "  she  began  in  scared  tones.  But  Peter  inter- 
rupted her  cheerily. 

"  Don't  you  be  frettin'.  She's  here  'long  with  me. 
I've  brought  her  back  right  enough." 

But  the  sight  of  the  two  figures  on  the  threshold,  all 
safe  and  well,  seemed  to  bring  no  great  comfort  to  Mary 
Ludgven  after  all,  for  she  stepped  back  quickly  and 
turned  all  white  and  trembling,  as  if  something  had 
bruised  her  heart. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

TT  was  a  glorious  day,  that  day  when  jealousy — the  red, 
'■■  raging  devil — entered  into  'Zekiel  Myners'  heart  and 
killed  his  peace.  But  the  merry  sun  cared  nothing  for 
the  pang  at  the  boy's  heart  as  he  laughed  down  at  the 
heaving  sea,  for  his  sympathies  are  flagrantly  with  the 
cheerful.  And  the  heaving  sea  had  never  a  glance  for 
the  wild-hearted  lover,  as  it  coquetted  with  the  joyous 
god,  its  answering  love-light  sparkling  on  every  ripple, 
and  its  blue  beauty  defying  all  winter's  chilly  hints 
and  warnings.  Envy  had  lain  in  'Zekiel's  heart  for 
many  days,  a  stinging  pain  which  pulsed  with  fresh 
life  whenever  his  eyes  fell  upon  Master  Humphrey 
and  acknowledged  his  superiority ;  but  this  new  tor- 
ment was  of  a  mightier  growth  than  envy,  it  was 
jealousy,  bitter  and  unreasoning,  and  it  entered  in 
and  stayed. 

For   it   was   on   this  sunny,  winter   day  that  Master 
Humphrey  and  the  Spanish  girl  met  on   Landecarrock 

117 


Ii8  A    SPANISH  MAID 

beach,  and  'Zekiel;  mending  his  nets  in  the  shelter  of  a 
rock,  glanced  up,  all  unprepared,  and  saw  the  meeting. 
At  the  sight  he  drew  himself  suddenly  upright,  then 
swayed  feebly,  for  a  great  blow  seemed  to  have  fallen 
athwart  his  heart.  And  then  the  new  devil  rushed  in — 
in  to  his  very  soul — and  he  watched  the  man  and  the 
maid  with  blazing  eyes.  He  saw  their  hands  touch  and 
the  moment  seemed  an  eternity.  He  saw  them  turn 
together  and  loiter  by  the  glistening  baby-waves,  and 
every  footfall  trampled  on  his  pain  and  made  him 
wince.  He  heard  a  light  laugh  float  to  him  from 
Teresa's  throat — a  laugh  for  which  he  would  have 
bartered  his  salvation  if  he  could  have  called  it  from 
her.  He  knew  that  they  were  speaking  freely  and  easily 
in  that  language  which  was  to  him  as  impossible  as 
the  speech  of  angels.  And  he  turned  sick  with  the 
despair  of  it  all,  his  nets  dropped  from  his  hands,  and 
his  heart  withered  and  narrowed. 

For  a  while  the  two  figures  dallied  by  the  waves, 
pacing  slowly  to  and  fro  across  the  beach,  leaving  their 
light  footprints  upon  the  firm  sand,  as  they  left  their 
deeper  ones  on  a  boy's  soul ;  but  at  length  they  turned 
towards  a  group  of  rocks,  and  reaching  a  low,  smooth 
slab,  sat  down  upon  it  side  by  side  and  turned  their 
faces  to  each  other.  This  much  'Zekiel  could  see,  and 
though  he  could  not    hear  their  words   or   understand 


A   SPANISH  MAID  119 

them  even  if  he  heard,  the  thought  of  what  the  words 
might  be,  swelled  in  his  brain  and  set  it  seething. 

The  callous  sun  still  smiled  and  coquetted  with  the 
little  waves ;  the  sea-birds  screeched  and  swooped  across 
the  sky  as  if  conscious  of  the  value  of  a  clear,  blue 
background  for  white  wings  touched  with  grey ;  the 
keen  air  stirred  the  pulses  and  brought  a  wonderful 
colour  to  Teresa's  cheeks,  and  the  mist  which  still 
hung  here  and  there  was  but  the  morning's  pride. 
But  all  this  beauty  might  have  been  chaos  for  any 
ease  it  brought  to  'Zekiel ;  he  stood  with  his  nets  all 
tangled  as  they  fell  from  his  hands,  and  his  eyes 
blazing  on  the  man  and  the  maid  as  they  lingered  side 
by  side. 

Higher  on  the  cliff  a  little  face  was  watching  'Zekiel, 
a  merry  little  face  with  pity  on  it,  and  dark  curls  for 
a  pleasant  frame.  It  had  seen  all  that  'Zekiel  had 
seen,  and  it  had  not  liked  the  sight ;  but  degrees  of 
dislike  are  wide  apart,  as  are  also  the  methods  of 
enduring. 

A  sudden  soft  ripple  of  laughter  above  him  startled 
'Zekiel ;  he  had  thought  he  was  alone,  and  he  turned 
angrily  to  the  intruder.  Agrimony  !  A  common  little 
Landecarrock  maid  !  She  was  to  witness  his  tragedy  ! 
There  was  no  fitness  in  the  fact.  Looking  up  at  her 
he    saw    only   the   mirth    on   her    face,  not   the   pity; 


120  A    SPANISH  MAID 

and  he  chafed,  and  he  hated  her  suddenly,  and 
scowled. 

But  still  the  laughter  rippled  out,  low  and  clear, 
and  seemingly  heartless ;  and  then  for  a  time  the 
merry  face  was  hidden  in  two  freckled  little  hands, 
while  a  pair  of  shoulders  swayed  to  the  time  of  the 
hilarity. 

"  'Bide  quiet,  can't  'ee  !  "  'Zekiel  snapped  out  fiercely. 

Then  the  face  was  lifted  again,  and  the  red  lips 
narrowed  from  laughter  to  words. 

"  Our  squires  seem  like  to  be  stolen  from  our 
ladies."  The  words  came  down  to  him  in  mocking 
confidence,  and  one  freckled  little  hand  waved  towards 
the  figures  on  the  beach. 

"'Tis  the  squires  that  do  the  stealin',"  raged  'Zekiel. 

At  that  Agrimony  fell  to  laughing  again  and  'Zekiel's 
throat  grew  tight  and  strained  with  the  wrath  he  was 
choking  back.  Then  he  looked  again  at  the  beach, 
and  it  so  happened  that  above  Agrimony's  maddening 
titter  he  heard  Teresa  laugh — a  young,  pleased  laugh 
— and  he  saw  her  put  out  her  hand  and  lay  it  on 
Master  Humphrey's.  The  sight  struck  a  piteous  cry 
from  him,  and,  with  gripped  hands,  he  left  his  work 
and  strode  towards  them. 

"  How  durst  you  ? "  he  demanded,  as  he  stood 
before    them,    red    with    rage    and    shaking    with  all 


A   SPANISH  MAID  121 

the  passions  that  surged  in  him.  "  How  durst  you 
do  it?" 

For  a  whole  minute  there  was  absolute  silence, 
except  for  the  monotonous  plash  of  the  waves  and 
the  screech  of  the  gulls  ;  but  in  that  minute  Teresa's 
smiles  reshaped  themselves  and  stiffened  into  frowns. 
She  did  not  know  the  meaning  of  'Zekiel's  words,  but 
she  saw  the  rage  in  his  eyes,  and  his  very  presence 
was  an  intrusion,  and  distasteful  to  her  at  the  moment. 
Master  Humphrey,  however,  was  only  astonished  as  he 
looked  at  the  boy's  desperate  face. 

"What  is  it,  'Zekiel?"  he  asked  kindly.  "What  is 
wrong  ? " 

"  Wrong ! "  came  the  cry,  with  that  hopeless  pain- 
note  in  it — the  note  which  can  suddenly  moisten  eye- 
lids arid  for  years.  "  'Tis  all  wrong  !  'Tis  a  shameful 
wrong,  an'  I  won't  stand  by  and  bear  it !  " 

"But,  for  Heaven's  sake,  man,  explain!  Who  is 
wrong?  What  is  wrong?  Am  I  wrong,  do  you 
say?" 

"You'm  a "     But 'Zekiel's  furious -words  stopped 

short,  and  his  denunciation  died  in  his  teeth,  for  he 
looked  into  Master  Humphrey's  eyes,  and,  with  a 
magnificent  justice,  acknowledged  his  honesty.  "Oh, 
Master  Humphrey,  sir,"  he  cried  out  again  in  his  pain, 
"  how  durst  you  do  it  ?     How  durst  you  do  it  ?  " 


122  A    SPANISH  MAID 

"What  have  I  done?  Tell  me,  'Zekiel,  what  have 
I  done  ?  "  demanded  the  squire. 

"  Done !  you'm  teachin'  her  to  love  'ee,  Master 
Humphrey.  You'm  winnin'  of  her  heart  just  to  pass 
away  a  chance  hour  or  so,  to  throw  it  off  again  like 
an  old  glove  when  you've  a-done  with  it,  an'  drive 
me  mad." 

'"Zekiel,"  said  Master  Humphrey,  with  a  quick, 
haughty  lift  of  his  head,  "you  must  be  mad  already 
to  say  this  to  me." 

"An'  I  prayed  'ee  to  help  me,"  went  on  'Zekiel, 
blind  to  the  squire's  anger.  "  I  begged  of  'ee  to  draw 
me  closer  to  her,  an'  you've  come  between  us.  Oh, 
Master  Humphrey !  what's  your  play-love  beside  of 
mine?" 

In  the  face  of  the  boy's  real  pain,  Master  Humphrey's 
wrath  died  quickly.  "  It  is  a  great  mistake,"  he  said 
quietly.  "  I  have  not  won  this  girl's  love.  I  have 
not  sought  to  win  it ;  though  I  account  myself  answer- 
able to  no  one  for  my  loves  or  for  my  hates,  and  I 
certainly  should  not  tolerate  question  or  interference. 
You  asked  a  favour  of  me,  so  did  this  girl ;  I  granted 
both.  You  wish  to  know  her  language,  she  wishes 
to  know  yours.  Is  it  fair  that  you  fret  because  I 
do  for  her  what  I  willingly  do  for  you  ? " 

Master     Humphrey    stopped    speaking,    and    stood. 


A   SPANISH  MAID  123 

white  and  dignified,  before  his  accuser.  Teresa  on 
the  ledge  above  him,  crouched  with  anger-red  cheeks 
and  gripped  hands.  'Zekiel  stood  still  as  a  statue  and 
tried  to  realise  it  all.  At  last,  as  he  looked  long  and 
justly  at  his  squire — debonair,  well-favoured  Master 
Humphrey  Harle — the  realisation  came  in  full  measure, 
and  broke  the  spirit  in  him. 

"My  God!  my  God!"  he  cried  out,  "what's  my 
chance  against  such  as  him?" 

The  hopelessness  of  it  all  goaded  him,  and  he 
stumbled  forward  a  step  or  two,  throwing  out  his 
arms  towards  Master  Humphrey  in  his  despair.  Poor 
'Zekiel !  The  action  held  no  malice ;  but  the  girl 
standing  on  the  rock-slab,  with  her  eyes  blazing  down 
upon  him,  saw  the  gesture  and  misread  it,  and 
leaping  quickly  on  to  the  sand,  struck  him  across 
the  face  with  her  little  clenched  fist. 

In  an  instant  Master  Humphrey  had  sprung  forward 
and  gripped  her  by  the  arms,  but  he  was  too  late 
to  stay  her  hand,  and  for  a  moment  'Zekiel  staggered 
under  the  unexpected  blow.  Then  the  blood  which 
had  rushed  to  his  face  ebbed  slowly  away,  leaving 
him  pallid,  with  the  mark  of  the  girl's  knuckles 
standing  out  in  ugly  relief. 

For  a  long  moment  they  stood  motionless ;  then, 
without  another  word,  'Zekiel  turned  on  his  heel  and 


124  A    SPANISH  MAID 

strode  away  from  them,  across  the  sands  and  upwards 
to  the  downs. 

Between  the  two  who  stayed  there  was  silence, 
until  silence  became  unbearable.  Master  Humphrey 
still  gripped  the  girl's  hot,  brown  arm,  and  she 
glared  back  at  him  with  wide  defiant  eyes.  Then 
she  laughed,  a  callous  little  laugh  which  filled  his 
soul  with  a  minute's  loathing. 

"  You  little  fury  ! "  he  muttered  ;  "  you  little  fiend  ! " 

"  He  is  a  devil ! "  she  cried. 

"  He  is  an  honest  fellow,"  he  declared,  "  and  I  am 
going  to  him."  And  Master  Humphrey  loosed  his 
hold  of  her  arm,  and  he^  too,  walked  away  from  her 
across  the  beach  and  up  the  cliff  path  to  the  downs. 

The  girl,  left  alone,  clenched  her  teeth  until  they 
pained  her,  and  stood  watching  the  two  men  go  from 
her,  her  own  face  ugly  with  mortification  and  rage. 

And  then,  from  her  perch  on  the  cliff  came  Agri- 
mony and  laughed  at  her,  and  with  a  jerk  of  her 
head  towards  the  figures  moving  away  the  laughter 
took  on  an  unbearable  note,  and  "You've  a-lost  'em 
both  this  mornin',  I'm  thinkin',"  she  tittered.  Teresa 
understood  little  of  her  words,  but  the  language  of 
laughter  is  cosmopolitan,  and  she  understood  that  the 
little  village  maid  was  taunting  her.  This  third  insult 
whipped  her  wrath  to  fury  and  she  lifted  her  clenched 


A  SPANISH  MAW  125 

hand  again  to  beat  down  the  face  which  offended 
her.  But  Agrimony  was  quick  and  quite  unawed ; 
stepping  back  and  shaking  her  head  till  her  curls 
were  all  a-bobbing,  she  waved  her  aggravating  little 
hand  and  skipped  away,  leaving  Teresa  to  chafe  under 
her  laughter  as  she  went. 

And  Teresa  did  chafe.  She  looked  from  the  dancing 
figure  on  the  beach  to  the  two  men  away  in  the  distance, 
and  her  face  was  dark  and  passionate.  In  half  a 
morning  hour  Landecarrock  had  grown  hateful  as  Spain  ; 
every  human  being  she  knew,  or  had  ever  known,  was 
hateful.  Agrimony,  on  the  beach,  turned  before  dancing 
up  the  slope  to  the  village  street  and  curtsied  low  with 
mock  reverence.  The  two  men  on  the  downs  had 
met  together.  Teresa  saw  it  all  and  raged  at  it,  then 
she  tossed  her  head  defiantly  and  walked  back  to  the 
village  alone. 

"There's  no  manner  of  good  in  that  maid,"  declared 
Ann  Vitty,  as  she  paused  in  her  knitting  and  watched 
the  girl  go  up  by  the  corner  of  her  garden  from  the 
street.  "To  my  mind  she's  a-got  a  powerful  strong 
look  of  the  black  gentleman  about  her." 

"Maybe  you'm  right,"  agreed  Luke  Tregay,  taking 
his  little  black  pipe  from  his  mouth  to  do  it.  "  Maybe 
you'm  right.  I  dunno  as  I  know  the  looks  of  that 
gen'leman  over-well  myself,  so  I  wouldn'  go  for  to  set 


126  A    SPANISH  MAID 

my  knowledge  of  'un  against  your  own ;  but  I  must  say 
the  maid  ain't  nothin'  like  our  Landecarrock  maids,  nor 
like  any  other  body  as  ever  I've  a-seen,  so  I  make  no 
doubt  she's  like  them  as  I  'aven't  seen.  'Tis  a  mortal 
heathenish  way  she's  got  with  her." 

"  Ah ! "  said  Ann  Vitty  meditatively,  "  'twas  queer 
work — her  comin'  that  way.  Queer  things  do  happen 
one  time  an'  another,  of  course;  but  I  must  say  as  I 
wouldn'  like  to  fall  under  her  eye." 

'"Tis  a  fine  bold  eye,  too,"  declared  Luke  with  a 
good  courage,  preparing  to  better  his  lapse  into  ponder- 
ous pleasantry.  "  In  the  matter  of  maids'  eyes  you 
must  know,  Ann,  'tis  we  men-folk  as  must  be  the  judges. 
Law,  bless  me !  wimmen-folk  can't  never  see  straight 
when  'tis  other  wimmen-folk's  eyes  as  is  the  view  to  be 
looked  'pon." 

"  Men-folks !  Poor,  silly  creatures,  sure  enough,  to 
set  about  judgin',"  retorted  Ann  with  scorn.  "Talk 
about  wimmen-folk  not  seein'  straight !  Men-folk  don't 
see  nothin'  at  all,  straight  or  crooked.  A  bold-eyed 
maid  looks  at  'em,  an'  they'm  blinded;  an',  'Law  me!' 
they  call  out,  '  What  bootiful  eyes  she  hev  a-got ;  I  can't 
see  nothin'  for  dazzle.'  Dazzle's  booty  to  you  men-folk. 
You'm  always  for  worshipping  what  you  can't  make 
out." 

Luke   chuckled    as    the    young  ways  of    men    were 


A    SPANISH  MAID  127 

fathered  on  him.  He  liked  the  delicate  inclusion  of 
himself  in  the  green  stupidity;  and  Ann  Vitty  seemed 
to  recognise  this  and  regret  it,  for  her  next  words 
were  chosen  with  a  view  to  counteracting  the  com- 
pliment. 

"An'  you,  too,  I  b'leeve,  come  to  your  age,  would  be 
just  as  foolish  as  the  young  ones  if  that  maid  were  to 
turn  an'  look  at  'ce." 

"Maybe  you'm  right,  my  dear  soul.  Humans  is 
somethin'  like  ducks;  can't  see  but  with  one  eye  at 
a  time,  an'  that  one's  all  for  some  little  bit  of  shiney 
trade  that  happens  along.  But,  law !  Ann  Vitty,  the 
ways  of  maids  is  pretty,"  he  concluded  indulgently. 

"'Twas  the  ways  of  men-folk  we  was  considerin'," 
Ann  Vitty  corrected  with  some  grimness.  "  T/iey  wasn' 
much  to  boast  of  for  prettiness  in  my  day,  an'  now  I 
call  'em  mazed." 

"Your  day  was  my  day,  Ann."  Luke's  voice  took 
a  conciliatory  note.  "  An'  I  make  no  doubt  we  was  all 
mazed  in  our  fathers'  and  mothers'  eyes.  But  we 
didn'  cry  out  for  no  Spanish  maids,  anyhow;  Lande- 
carrock  eyes  was  bright  enough  for  us." 

Ann  Vitty  had  been  a  Landecarrock  maid  herself 
and  the  implied  compliment  was  not  wasted ;  she  had 
reached  the  turning  of  the  heel  in  her  knitting,  and 
the    business   was    absorbing,    but   the   tone   in   which 


128  A    SPANISH  MAID 

she  counted  her  stitches  was  free  from  the  asperity 
which  had  run  through  her  last  remark,  and  when 
she  spoke  again  she  had  waived  aside  the  weaknesses 
of  man,  and  had  turned  to  the  uncertainty  of  the 
fattening  of  pigs. 

Daniel  Laskey,  who  leaned  against  his  own  particular 
hollow  in  the  wall,  still  looked  with  absent  eyes  at  the 
corner  by  which  the  foreign  maid  had  passed.  But 
if  his  thoughts  had  trailed  away  to  the  pretty  ways — 
or  otherwise — of  other  maids  he  had  known  in  that 
far-off  boyhood  of  his,  at  any  rate  he  said  nothing  of 
the  matter,  only  murmured,  "  H'm  ! "  when  the  silence 
seemed  to  call  for  sound. 

Mary  Ludgven  was  setting  the  table  for  dinner  when 
Teresa  reached  the  cottage  door.  Her  face  was  pale, 
but  her  lips  were  smiUng  as  she  moved  to  and  fro, 
cooing  the  while  to  Zel,  who  lay  stretched  on  his  back 
in  the  cradle,  fighting  the  air  with  his  bare  legs  and 
arms.  Teresa  stood  and  watched  them  for  a  moment 
unnoticed,  but  the  sight  did  not  seem  to  please  her, 
for  the  gleam  in  her  eyes  was  unholy,  and  her  red 
lips  were  scornful. 

At  length,  Mary,  turning  towards  the  door,  saw  the 
girl,  and  started. 

"  Oh,  I  didn'  know  you  was  there ! "  she  exclaimed, 
striving,  as  she  always  did,   to  force  a  welcome   note 


A  SPANISH  MAID  129 

into  her  voice.  "You'm  just  in  time  for  dinner.  I 
was  on  my  way  to  call  Peter." 

"  I  go,"  cried  Teresa,  who  had  gathered  the  sense 
of  the  words,  and  she  turned  quickly  to  the  little 
wooden  gate  at  the  side,  which  led  to  Peter's  vegetable 
garden  on  the  slope  of  the  hill. 

Mary's  first  impulse   was   to   forbid   the   girl   to   go. 

"No,   no "  she  began,   but  Teresa   was   too  quick 

for  forbiddings.  And  "Why  shouldn'  she  go?"  Mary 
demanded  of  herself,  with  that  never-ending  struggle 
to  be  just  to  the  girl.  Lifting  Zel  from  his  cradle 
she  sauntered  out  to  the  gate,  and  leaned  against 
it  as  Teresa  went  up  the  garden  path  with  slackening 
pace. 

"  Pe — ter,"  came  Teresa's  voice,  low  and  tremb- 
ling. 

"Why  does  she  say  it  like  that?"  thought  Mary 
resentfully.  Perhaps  she  over-blamed  a  softness  of 
voice  which  was  but  instinctive  with  the  girl — except 
in  her  wrath ;  but  it  was  as  well  for  Mary's  peace  that 
she  could  not  read  the  girl's  heart  at  the  moment, 
stinging  as  it  was  from  what  she  felt  to  be  the 
defeat  and  humiliation  of  the  morning,  and  craving 
to  assert  her  power  again,  over  some  one  —  over 
any  one. 

But  the  voice  was  too  low.     Peter  did  not  hear  it. 

I 


130 


A    SPANISH  MAID 


He  was  shouting  a  cheerful  song  with  the  full  strength 
of  his  lungs,  and  his  back  was  turned  to  her. 

"  Peter ! "  she  called  again,  "  Peter  !  Peter  ! " 

This  time  her  voice,  though  still  low,  was  impera- 
tive. 

"Right!  I'm  a-comin',"  shouted  Peter.  "I've  just 
a-got  to  turn  this  foot  or  two  of  weed."  And  he 
went  on  with  his  labour  and  his  song,  while  Mary 
leaned  heavily  against  the  gate  and  still  followed 
Teresa  with  wide,  pained  eyes.  There  was  no  reason 
why  Mary's  heart  should  pant  so  hardly  and  her  breath 
struggle  in  her  throat;  she  was  foohsh,  she  told  her- 
self again  and  again.  There  was  no  reason  for  fear, 
but  still  the  pain  was  there. 

"Ah,  Peter!"  Teresa's  voice  was  tense  now  and 
vibrating. 

"All  right,"  he  answered  again,  without  looking  up, 
"  'twon't  take  but  a  minute  or  so " 

But  Teresa  had  drawn  close  to  him,  and  she  laid 
her  hand  upon  his  stooping  shoulder.  Then,  with  a 
start,  Peter  straightened  his  back  and  looked  at  her, 
and  their  eyes  met.  The  song — that  silly,  cheerful 
song — it  was  forgotten,  of  course ;  the  smile  on  his 
face  died,  too.  The  fat,  pink-brown  worms  slid  from 
the  newly-turned  clod  and  the  sudden  touch  of  winter 
air,  down  into   the  warmth  and  security  of  the   good 


A   SPANISH  MAID  131 

brown  earth.  But  Peter  did  not  heed  them ;  his  eyes, 
and  his  senses,  and  his  will  were  held  as  if  they 
were  enmeshed  in  the  girl's  lashes  or  clipped  by  her 
lids.  Teresa  was  asserting  her  power ;  she  was  recover- 
ing her  slackened  strength;  and  Peter — humble  Peter 
Ludgven — was  accounted  worthy  enough  subject  for 
the  testing  of  that  power;  and  he  gazed  upon  her,  a 
fixed,  spell-bound  gaze,  as  if  his  soul's  salvation  lay 
deep  down  in  her  baffling,  inscrutable  eyes.  Then  she 
moved  slowly  from  him,  and  he  dropped  his  spade 
and  followed  her. 

Mary,  who  had  watched  it  all,  bowed  her  head  on 
her  baby's  warm,  chubby  shoulder,  and  closed  her 
eyes,  as  if  she  hoped  this  act  might  bar  the  recollec- 
tion from  her  mind  as  the  lids  barred  the  scene  from 
her  sight.  Then  she  turned  away  from  the  garden 
and  went  into  the  house,  and  waited. 

"Why  does  the  light,  an'  the  strength,  an'  the 
happiness  go  out  of  every  man  an'  woman's  face  as 
looks  upon  her?"  she  asked  wildly.  "Why  did  she 
ever  come  to  my  doors  ?  " 

But  there  was  no  answer  to  her  cry,  only  Peter's 
heavy  footsteps  drew  nearer  and  then  came  in  at  the 
door.  There  was  a  dazed  look  on  his  face  which 
hurt  his  wife's  heart ;  it  was  as  if  he  had  become  a 
stranger    to    her.      With    a    sudden    impulse    she    put 


132  A    SPANISH  MAID 

the  child  into  his  arms  and  turned  to  Teresa  in 
dumb  petition.  Teresa  was  smiUng  placidly  upon 
the  father  and  child,  but  to  Mary  it  seemed  that 
the  eyes  between  the  girl's  narrowed  lids  looked 
pitiless. 


CHAPTER   X. 

"  'VT'OU  will  come,  Teresa?" 

-■■  There  was  pleading,  mock  or  real,  in  Master 
Humphrey's  voice — the  pleading  of  a  man  accustomed 
to  win  his  wish. 

It  was  a  bleak  afternoon  a  few  days  before  Christmas, 
and  all  along  the  lonely  lane  in  which  they  stood,  the 
wind  swept,  keen  and  blustering,  over  the  dry  white 
ground,  whirling  the  sticks,  and  twigs,  and  fallen 
leaves,  then  driving  them  on  before  its  boisterous- 
ness,  and  whistling  through  the  bare,  bending  branches 
overhead. 

All  that  day  Teresa  had  been  sullen  and  silent, 
with  ugly  lines  on  her  forehead,  as  she  cowered  by 
the  hearth;  until  Mary,  taxing  to  the  fullest  her  own 
powers  of  interpretation  and  pantomimic  action,  had 
roused  her,  and  induced  her  to  leave  her  brooding 
and  face   the   world   out   of  doors,  bringing  down  her 

133 


134  A   SPANISH  MAID 

own  best  shawl — a  gorgeous  tartan  brought  round  to 
Landecarrock  by  the  good  ship  Mary  Jean  of  Glasgow 
— as  a  lure.  And  Teresa,  either  won  by  the  colours 
of  it,  or  over-tired  of  her  own  megrims,  had  risen  im- 
patiently, and,  snatching  the  gay  thing  from  Mary's 
hands,  had  wound  it  about  herself  in  the  "heathenish 
manner"  which  the  villagers  found  so  trying  to  their 
sense  of  fitness,  and  had  gone  out  ungraciously,  turning 
her  face  towards  Pensallas. 

"  You  will  come,  Teresa  ?  " 

The  words  were  spoken  suddenly  behind  her  as 
she  stood  by  a  gateway  and  looked  through  it  to  the 
sea.  Turning  quickly  she  saw  Master  Humphrey, 
ruddy  and  smihng,  with  his  hands  stretched  out  to 
her,  part  mocking,  part  deprecating. 

For  a  month  Teresa  had  hated  Master  Humphrey 
and  her  recollection  of  him  in  the  aggregate — his 
laughing,  unconcerned  face,  his  tolerant  kindness,  his 
jests  when  she  would  be  serious,  his  smiles  when  she 
would  be  tragic,  his  championship  of  'Zekiel,  his 
desertion  of  herself.  To  a  certain  extent  'Zekiel  had 
been  graciously  forgiven  for  obtruding  his  pain  and 
passion  upon  her  so  inconveniently,  and  'Zekiel,  with 
his  heart  full  of  misery,  had  had  no  more  spirit  than 
to  snatch  hungrily  at  the  crumbs  of  comfort  she 
tossed   to   him.      But   with    Master   Humphrey   it   was 


A   SPANISH  MAID  135 

another  matter.  'Zekiel  was  but  a  common  fisher-boy, 
and  his  very  soul  was  given  over  to  her,  whether  she 
desired  it  or  not.  Master  Humphrey  was  the  squire, 
with  wealth  and  beautiful  possessions,  and  he  had 
been  indifferent  to  her.  Now  for  a  month  she  had 
met  him  and  passed  him  with  never  a  glance  or  a 
word,  but  the  look  in  her  eyes  and  the  set  of  her 
lips  did  not  mean  that  she  had  forgotten. 

Master  Humphrey  had  gone  on  his  way  cheerily  as 
ever,  amused  by  the  girl's  temper  when  he  noticed  it, 
but  fairly  unconcerned.  But  as  the  days  passed,  her 
haughty  little  face  began  to  interest  him,  perhaps  to 
pique  him,  and  he  felt  that  he  would  like  to  be 
friends  with  her  again.  Christmas  was  coming  and 
he  wanted  her  to  smile  and  say  that  she  would  come 
to  his  dance  in  the  barn — not  furrow  her  brow  and 
quarrel.  Besides,  there  was  that  spell  which  she 
seemed  to  have  cast  over  'Zekiel ;  he  wanted  to  watch 
her  ways.  It  was  a  dangerous  game,  interfering  with 
'Zekiel's  love-experience,  but  it  would  be  interesting 
to  find  where  the  glamour  lay 

She  turned  at  his  words  and  saw  him  standing  there. 
And  if  for  a  moment  an  evil  wave  passed  over  her  face, 
ugly  and  startling,  it  was  so  fleeting  that  a  second 
later  Master  Humphrey  doubted  the  truth  of  his  own 
sight,  as  she  stepped  closer  to  him,  and  looked  at  him 


136  A  SPANISH  MAID 

with  the  soft  radiance  welling  in  her  eyes  which  had 
proved  poor  'Zekiel's  undoing. 

A  wonderful  flush  stole  over  her  face,  he  saw ;  it 
was  like  the  rosy  bloom  on  a  little  child's  cheeks.  And 
that  speck  of  light,  there,  deep  in  her  eyes  !  It  seemed 
to  tremble,  then  to  grow  small,  then  to  dilate !  It  was 
curious  !  it  was  most  fascinating  !  It  seemed  to  hold  the 
eyes  that  looked  at  it ;  or  was  it  the  brain  it  struck  ? 

A  dazed,  straining  look  crept  into  Master  Humphrey's 
laughing  eyes  ;  deep,  stern  lines  came  and  lay  about 
his  lips  where  his  smiles  had  lain  before.  They  made 
him  seem  suddenly  quite  old,  as  if  he  had  been  but 
masquerading  as  the  young  debonair  squire — playing 
at  boyishness  for  a  whim,  until  now.  He  stood  staring 
at  the  girl^  oblivious  of  the  fact  that  a  gaze  of  several 
minutes'  length  might  be  deemed  uncivil. 

It  was  Teresa  who  broke  the  long  silence.  She 
laughed,  a  little,  low,  wooing  laugh,  which  pardoned 
the  incivility  before  it  was  repented  of,  and  said  softly : 
"  I  will  come  if  you  wish  for  me." 

In  the  same  half-conscious  manner  he  took  her 
hands  and  drew  her  towards  him. 

"  And  you  will  dance  with  me  ?  "  His  voice  was  now 
a  whisper. 

"And  I  will  dance  with  you,"  she  answered,  with 
her  eyes  still  looking  unshrinkingly  into  his. 


A   SPAmSH  MAID  I37 

That  wonderful  fleck  of  light !  It  was  tantalising 
him  ;  it  was  evading  him  ;  it  had  vanished.  Surely  it 
was  fancied ;  it  was  really  never  there  !  But,  as  he 
felt  the  shock  of  loss,  of  disappointment,  it  had  danced 
back  again.  He  had  sometimes  watched  sunshine 
trembling  in  the  brown  hollows  of  a  trout  stream;  it 
had  been  beauty  on  a  larger  scale  than  this,  but  it 
had  never  stolen  his  senses.  Now,  in  the  bewitch- 
ment, he  drew  the  girl  still  closer,  and  the  muscles 
of  his  hands  stiffened  to  a  strength  he  did  not 
guess.  Teresa's  face  was  close  to  his;  her  lips  were 
parted 

A  sudden  blast  of  wind  came  tearing  and  moaning 
through  the  lane.  It  pierced  the  girl's  sensitive  body, 
it  chilled  the  blood  in  her  veins  and  set  a  quick 
anger  in  her  eyes. 

"  A — h  ! "  said  Master  Humphrey.  He  drew  his 
eyes  from  hers,  and  dropped  her  hands  ;  and  there  was 
some  mingling  of  a  groan  and  a  sigh  of  relief  in  his 
voice;  then  he  looked  slowly  at  the  hedges  and 
the  road,  as  if  they  were  new  to  him.  The  wind's 
fury  had  died  as  suddenly  as  it  had  risen,  and 
Teresa's  anger  was  gone  with  it.  She  moved  from 
the  gateway  now  and  went  slowly  down  the  lane,  and 
Master  Humphrey  moved  too,  and  walked  by  her 
side.     But  it  was  a  glint  of  triumph  which  lay  at  the 


138  A   SPANISH  MAW 

back  of  the  girl's  eyes  when  they  were  turned  from  the 
squire's  face. 

Master  Humphrey  had  become  dull.  Having  won 
his  wish,  he  seemed  to  have  little  to  say  that  afternoon. 
The  whole  length  of  the  lane  he  paced  at  Teresa's 
side,  but  his  eyes  were  turned  persistently  from  her 
and  were  fixed  upon  the  bare,  wind-swept  ground  before 
him,  as  a  child,  who,  having  dropped  a  treasure  on  his 
outward  way,  is  now  returning  carefully. 

And  the  biting  air  which  brought  the  blood  to  his 
face,  drained  it  from  Teresa's.  She  grew  white  and 
cold  and  shivered  beneath  Mary's  tartan.  "I  shall 
return  to  the  hearth,"  she  said  pettishly,  as  she  faced 
back  again.  "There  is  no  pleasure  in  this  cold 
pacing." 

Master  Humphrey  turned,  too,  and  then  he  dared 
to  look  at  her  again.  But  a  sudden  gust  buffeted 
the  last  remnants  of  her  patience.  "  Ah  !  what  a  dull, 
icy  land,  and  people  ! "  she  cried.  "  It  is  insupport- 
able !  not  to  be  borne ! "  And  with  a  gesture  of 
disgust  she  turned  from  him  quickly  and  sped  away, 
leaving  him  standing  in  the  lane  alone. 

With  slow  steps  Master  Humphrey  retraced  his 
way,  and  stood  again  by  the  gateway  where  he  had 
found  Teresa,  and  looked  across  the  leaden  waters. 

"  It   was   as   if  one   were   dreaming,"   he   said    half- 


A   SPANISH  MAID  1 39 

aloud.  Then  he  passed  his  hand  across  his  eyes. 
"I  am  awake  now,"  he  added ;  "I  was  a  fool!"  Then 
he  leaned  on  the  top  bar  and  whistled  most  cheer- 
fully; and  a  little  water-course,  trickling  lazily  down 
the  hedge  on  the  other  side  of  the  road,  played 
secondo  to  his  tune. 

The  early  winter  dimness  was  beginning  to  tone 
down  the  day  colours,  when  quick  footsteps,  hurrying 
over  the  hard  ground,  dominated  the  duet.  Master 
Humphrey  turned  from  his  gateway  and  saw  a  little 
figure  in  a  hooded  blue  cloak,  whose  breath  came  fast, 
and  whose  cheeks  were  pink  from  her  hurry  through 
the  keen  and  boisterous  air. 

"  Ursula  !     You,  and  all  alone  ! " 

"  Ah !  Humphrey,"  she  panted,  "  I  am  glad.  I  am 
come  from  Venton  Cottages,  where  I  walked  quite 
early  this  afternoon  to  learn  how  Ann  Teagle  fares, 
for  grandfather  was  busy  with  his  writings ;  and  the 
cottagers  found  so  much  to  say,  and  I  so  much  to 
see,  that  the  light  was  fading  before  I  remembered 
my  homeward  walk,  and  I  began  to  fear  that  dark- 
ness would  come  upon  me  and  grandfather  would  be 
grieved." 

There  was  no  excess  of  shyness  or  self-conscious- 
ness on  Ursula's  little  face  in  these  days;  that  had 
passed  with  the  first  strangeness  of  Master  Humphrey's 


140  A   SPANISH  MAID 

home-coming.  She,  at  any  rate,  took  no  heed  of  the 
ageing  properties  of  three  years.  He  was  once  more 
the  fellow  -  creature  she  knew  most  freely  of  all  in 
her  small  world ;  he  was  her  play-fellow  again,  with 
only  the  games  a  trifle  graver. 

"There  will  be  no  darkness  yet  awhile,"  he  assured 
her  cheerfully  for  her  comfort.  Then,  as  he  looked 
at  her  confident  little  face,  a  sudden  impulse  made 
him  say :  "  I  have  been  talking  with  the  Spanish  maid, 
Ursula." 

He  did  not  know  why  he  told  her,  nor  why  he 
looked  at  her  so  anxiously  when  he  had  done  it ; 
but  when  he  saw  her  gentle  eyes  grow  thoughtful  he 
suddenly  looked  away,  and  fingered  a  lichened  tree 
bole,  and  waited  for  her  to  speak. 

"  Poor  maid  ! "  she  said.  "  Grandfather  always  says, 
'  Poor  maid !  poor  stranger  in  a  strange  land ! '  when 
he  speaks  of  her." 

"  And  you  ?  "  he  asked.     "  Do  you  pity  her  ?  " 

*'  I  ? "  she  answered.  "  I  think  I  fear  her — when  I 
am  by  her,  but  when  I  am  apart  from  her  I  think  of 
her  very  often." 

*'  What  do  you  think  of  her  then  ?  " 

"She  is  so  wonderful!  Oh,  Humphrey!  she  must 
have  seen  —  she  must  have  lived  in  some  of  those 
wonderful  lands " 


A   SPANISH  MAID  141 

"  Have  not  I  ? "  he  protested. 

"  And  she  is  so  beautiful " 

"  Am  not  I  ?  "  he  demanded  laughing. 

"  Truly ;  I  will  grant  that  you  are  a  wonderful, 
beautiful  pair." 

"  No,  do  not  pair  us,"  he  said,  growing  grave. 

Then  Ursula  remembered  the  dimness  again. 

"I  must  not  loiter,"  she  sighed  regretfully.  "Will 
you  not  come  with  me,  Humphrey  ?  Agrimony  shall 
bring  a  third  cup  for  you  if  you  will," 

But  Master  Humphrey  looked  troubled. 

"No,  dear,"  he  said  hesitating,  "I  think  I  will 
not  come.  I — I  feel  scarcely  fit  to  come."  He 
laughed  unnaturally.  "  I  have  been — I  am  smirched  !  " 
He  held  out  his  hands  to  her  with  the  Hchen  dust 
on  them. 

Ursula  laughed  at  him. 

"  It  is  but  a  little  lichen  dust,  stupid  Humphrey  ! 
Blow  it  away." 

He  blew  and  the  light  dust  disappeared,  but  still 
a  dark  streak  remained.  Then  he  looked  at  her  again, 
with  more  trouble  on  his  face  than  the  occasion 
seemed  to  need,  and  again  Ursula  laughed  at  him. 

"  Oh,  stupid,  helpless  Humphrey !  to  fret  for  such 
a  little  spot !     I  will  soon  make  it  right." 

She   ran   to   the    stream   which    trickled    down    the 


142  A   SPANISH  MAW 

opposite  hedge,  and,  dabbling  her  little  handkerchief 
in  it,  came  back  and  took  his  hand  in  hers.  Quite 
soberly  she  rubbed  away  at  his  palm  with  the  damp 
cambric  until  the  streak  was  gone,  and  then,  "The 
other,  please,"  she  said,  "  for  I  will  make  you  quite 
clean  again."  And  she  rubbed  the  second  palm  with 
much  thoroughness.  "  Now,  dry  them,"  she  commanded 
with  a  business-like  air. 

"Look  at  me,  Ursula,"  said  Master  Humphrey,  with 
sharp  imperativeness,  his  wet  hands  still  outstretched, 
and  she  looked  up  at  him  quickly  with  the  demure 
little  smile  he  knew  so  well.  But  to-day  there  was  a 
pretty  gleam  in  her  eyes,  and  that  he  did  not 
remember  to  have  seen  before — perhaps  he  had  never 
noticed  Ursula's  eyes  before.  Now  the  pretty  gleam 
startled  him ;  he  liked  it,  and  then  he  regretted  it. 
For  one  moment  it  recalled  Teresa's  eyes,  but  the 
next  moment  that  recollection  and  the  regret  were 
both  gone.  This  was  such  an  honest  little  gleam;  it 
shone  so  steadily.  The  old  smile  came  back  to  his 
lips  again  and  both  faces  looked  young  and  very 
happy. 

"  Dry  your  hands,  silly  Humphrey  ! "  she  said  again. 
And  he  drew  his  handkerchief  from  his  pocket  and 
obeyed  her.  Then  he  took  the  little  wet  one  from 
her  and  wrapped   it  in   his   own,   and  he  laughed  at 


A   SPANISH  MAID  143 

her,  and  she  at  him ;  and  the  bleak,  wintry  world 
seemed  to  have  become  a  wonderfully  pleasant  place 
to  both  of  them,  though  neither  stopped  to  wonder 
why.  So  they  turned  their  faces  villagewards  and 
walked  briskly  on. 

There  was  clamour  to  be  heard  when  they  neared 
the  boat-sheds,  and  while  they  wondered  at  it,  the 
clamour  was  hushed  and  a  low  murmur  took  its  place, 
rising  now  and  again  above  the  wail  and  roar  of  the 
wind.  Coming  closer  they  looked  down  upon  a  group 
of  men  and  boys,  wives  and  maids,  and  many  brown- 
legged  children ;  while,  apart  from  these,  chasing  along 
the  shore,  were  two  other  figures,  and  the  first  was 
Sam'le  Laskey,  and  the  second  was  'Zekiel  Myners ; 
and  Sam'le  was  the  pursued,  and  'Zekiel  the  pursuer. 
The  children  were  laughing  and  shrieking  excitedly, 
but  the  early  grins  of  the  elders  had  already  passed 
out  of  their  eyes,  even  while  they  lingered  on  the  lips, 
and  their  calls  were  protests  and  admonitions. 

"  'Zekiel  playing  with  Samuel  Laskey ! "  exclaimed 
Ursula  surprised. 

But  as  she  said  it  Sam'le  doubled  and  both  faces 
were  turned  for  some  moments  inland,  and  then  they 
saw  that  though  on  Sam'le's  face  there  lay  a  sort  of 
half-pleased,  half-proud  daring,  on  'Zekiel's  there  was 
only  rage. 


144  -^   SPANISH  MAID 

"What  does  it  mean?"  asked  Master  Humphrey, 
moving  towards  the  little  crowd. 

"Why,  sir,"  answered  a  fisher-boy,  "'twasn'  nothin' 
but  fun  to  begin  with.  We  was  just  throwin'  a  word 
or  two  to  'Zekiel  'bout  his  maid,  an'  he  didn'  make 
no  caprouse  'bout  it  at  all,  but  that  there  great 
bufflehead,  Sam'le,  must  needs  go  an'  sing  out  some- 
thin' — well,  sir,  'twasn'  no  purty  speech — an'  'Zekiel 
he  was  up  in  a  minute,  an'  he  made  for  Sam'le.  Sam'le 
was  a  brave  way  off  an'  seed  'Zekiel  a-coming,  an' 
runned,  but  I'm  thinkin'  'tis  a  brave  time  since  Sam'le 
done  such  hard  work  as  he's  a-doing  now.  He'll  get 
more'n  he  thought  for  when  'Zekiel  do  get  'en,  by 
the  look  of  it." 

From  where  they  stood  they  could  see  that  Sam'le 
was  panting,  and  that  the  smile  had  died  from  his  face 
and  something  like  fear  had  taken  its  place;  and  it 
seemed  as  if  'Zekiel's  rage  must  have  blinded  his  own 
eyes,  for  Sam'le's  clumsy  turns  and  manceuvrings  saved 
him  each  time. 

After  a  minute  or  two  Master  Humphrey  moved 
forward  to  interfere  and  stop  the  chase  which  had 
grown  too  serious  to  be  watched  as  play,  but  Sam'le 
turned  suddenly,  and,  stumbling  up  to  a  pile  of  old 
planks,  clambered  up  them  and  ran  along  the  top.  In 
an  instant  'Zekiel  sprang  up  after  him,  and  then  the 


A   SPANISH  MAID  145 

chase  was  over,  for  the  pile  narrowed  to  a  single  plank 
which  stretched  out  over  the  sea  at  high  Avater,  and  the 
tide  was  now  at  the  full. 

The  crowd  realised  the  situation  before  it  dawned  on 
Sam'le  himself.  When  he  reached  the  single  plank  and 
saw  that  he  could  go  no  farther,  and  heard  the  footsteps 
clattering  close  behind  him,  he  looked  down  at  the 
deep,  green  water  desperately,  and  then  he  turned  to 
'Zekiel  with  terrified  eyes,  and  the  tears  ran  big  and 
quick  down  his  cheeks,  and  he  cried  loudly  in  his 
fear. 

'•  Don't  'ee  hurt  'en  ! "  cried  one  woman. 

"  He  won't  do  nothin'  to  ole  Sam'le,"  said  another. 

But  'Zekiel  in  this  mood  was  not  to  be  reckoned  with. 
Sam'le's  taunt  had  goaded  him,  and  the  chase  after 
Sam'le  had  heated  his  blood  to  a  dangerous  point. 
Now  that  Sam'le  was  in  his  power  he  fell  on  him  and 
gripped  him  as  the  silly  fellow  faced  about  trembling 
between  two  terrors ;  then,  shaking  him  till  his  loose  lips 
fell  farther  apart  and  his  silly,  tear-wet  face  whitened,  he 
gripped  him  tighter,  and  forcing  him  to  the  very  end  of 
the  plank  held  him  forward  over  the  water  lying  dark 
and  noiseless  below. 

"  Ah !  "  shrieked  one  of  the  women,  "  Lord  save  'en  ! 
'Zekiel's  a-goin'  to  throw  'en  in  the  sea ! " 

"  Leave  'en  bide,  'Zekiel ! "  shouted  one  of  the  men, 

K 


146  ^   SPANISH  MAID 

but   the  words   were  caught   by  the  wind,  and   'Zekiel 
seemed  not  to  hear. 

"The  madness  of  it!"  cried  Master  Humphrey, 
hurrying  forward  to  stop  the  work.  But  the  little  figure 
which  had  stood  so  silently  beside  him  watching  it  all, 
was  quicker  than  he,  and,  in  another  moment  Ursula, 
with  her  blue  hood  blown  back  from  her  face  and  her 
cloak  flying  in  the  wind,  climbed  lightly  up  the  old 
wood  pile,  and  ran  along  the  single,  swaying  plank  until 
she  had  reached  the  two  men.  Then,  with  all  her 
strength,  she  clutched  'Zekiel's  arm  and  forced  him  back 
a  few  inches  from  the  dangerous  angle  at  which  he 
leaned. 

He  turned  on  her  furiously,  neither  knowing  nor  caring 
who  was  at  his  arm ;  and  the  crowd  on  the  shore  held 
its  breath  as  it  saw  the  rage  on  his  face,  and  the  bending 
plank,  and  the  little  lady's  peril. 

With  a  rough  jerk  he  tried  to  free  himself;  and 
then  the  crowd  cried  out  in  its  horror,  for  the  jerk 
shook  Ursula's  slight  foothold,  and  she  swayed  back 
in  a  way  that  made  their  hearts  rise  in  their  throats. 
Before  she  had  lost  her  balance,  however.  Master 
Humphrey  was  near  enough  to  save  her;  but  'Zekiel 
was  swifter  than  he ;  seeing  her  danger,  the  arms  which 
were  forcing  one  fellow-creature  into  peril  were  turned, 
instinctively,  to   clutch   another   from   it.     He   grasped 


A  SPANISH  MAID  147 

her  cloak  and  held  her  in  an  iron-strong  grip  until 
she  stood  safe  and  steady  beside  him.  Then  he 
himself  stood,  sobered  and  rather  dizzy,  and  looked 
at  her  with  shame  in  his  eyes.  Master  Humphrey's 
arm  was  round  her  now  but  she  laid  her  hand 
again  on  'Zekiel's ;  and  then,  though  her  hand  was 
trembling  and  her  face  was  white,  she  laughed  half- 
shyly  up  at  the  poor  fellow  and  spoke  as  if  no  danger 
to  herself  had  happened. 

"Let  him  go  now,  please,  'Zekiel.  I  think  you 
have  pretended  fierceness  long  enough  to  frighten  him 
to  good  behaviour.     Poor  Samuel ! " 

It  was  hard  to  keep  the  wrath  at  its  height  in  the 
face  of  a  gentle  amusement  which  overlooked  the 
seriousness  of  it.  'Zekiel's  anger  had  ebbed  swiftly 
out  of  him  in  the  recognition  of  the  little  lady's 
danger,  and  now  he  only  said  quietly:  "He  can  go 
safe,  for  all  I  care,  miss." 

Sam'le,  with  his  head  in  a  whirl  and  his  feet  uncom- 
fortably near  the  edge  of  the  unsteady  plank,  heard 
none  of  the  words  which  passed,  for  the  wind  blew 
them  far  from  his  ears,  nor  did  he  understand  his 
own  release  nor  the  doings  which  had  followed  it; 
but  when  he  saw  the  squire  and  Miss  Ursula  turn 
and  walk  back  to  safety,  followed  by  'Zekiel,  he  walked 
back    also,    allowing    only  a  prudent    space    between 


148  '  A  SPANISH  MAID 

himself    and    his    oppressor    out    of    the    cautiousness 
which  had  been  born  with  him. 

"You  was  too  boldacious,  Sam'le,"  cried  one,  as 
he  set  foot  on  land  again.  But  Sam'le  was  white- 
faced  and  disinclined  for  conversation,  and  the  crowd, 
as  a  whole,  seemed  to  have  lost  its  levity  for  a 
while  in  the  recollection  of  the  scene  just  passed, 
and  the  sight  of  the  chief  actors  in  it  going  their 
several  ways. 

"You  are  trembling,  little  woman,"  said  Master 
Humphrey,  drawing  Ursula's  arm  through  his  as  they 
climbed  the  hill  to  the  Parsonage. 

"  How  he  has  changed  !  Poor  'Zekiel !  One  would 
scarcely  know  him  for  the  same  'Zekiel,"  she  mused 
aloud,  not  heeding  his  action  or  his  words. 

"  And  all  because " 

"He  loves  the  strange  girl,"  she  interrupted  vehe- 
mently.    "  And  who    can   wonder ! "   she   added   more 

gently. 

He  did  not  answer  her  but  his  thoughts  went 
back  to  his  last  meeting  with  the  Spaniard,  and  he 
pitied  'Zekiel,  but  himself  he  blamed;  and  with 
the  blame  came  some  sense  of  shame,  and  when 
they  reached  the  door  of  the  parson's  room  he 
hesitated,  for  the  same  feeling  was  on  him  as  when  he 
had  said  to  Ursula  :  "  I  am  not  fit !     I  am  smirched  !  " 


A   SPANISH  MAID  149 

But  she,  turning  and  seeing  the  hesitation,  smiled 
confidently  back  at  him.  "Come,"  she  said,  with  the 
gracious  little  manner  she  wore  when  playing  hostess. 
"Come,  for  did  I  not  wash  the  dusty  hands  quite 
clean  ?  " 

And  so  they  entered  the  beautiful  place  together. 


CHAPTER  XL 

IT  was  the  squire's  Christmas  barn  dance  to  which 
he  had  bidden  Teresa.  The  dance  which  was  held 
in  Pensallas  big  barn  every  Christmas  Eve  as  surely 
as  the  sermon  was  preached  in  Landecarrock  church  on 
Christmas  Day,  and  for  which  neither  perfection  in,  nor, 
indeed,  the  most  primitive  knowledge  of,  Terpsichore's 
grace  was  any  condition  of  invitation  or  acceptance. 
All  Landecarrock  was  bidden,  and  all  Landecarrock 
responded  to  the  bidding. 

On  more  than  one  Christmas  Eve  the  dance  had 
been  stayed  and  the  laughter  hushed  by  news  of  a  ship 
in  distress  hard  by,  and  the  youths  and  the  men  had 
exchanged  the  hold  of  a  sweetheart's  hand  for  an  oar  or 
a  rope,  and  the  holly-wreathed  barn  for  the  furious  sea. 
On  more  than  one  Christmas  Eve,  too,  the  best  suits 
of  the  men  and  the  gowns  of  the  maids  had  born  signs 
of  long  wear  and  short  purses,  for  times  were  known  to 
be  hard  and  money  scarce  in  Landecarrock,  and,  verily, 

150 


A   SPANISH  MAID  151 

to  live  sometimes  was  no  easy  matter.  But  nobody 
fretted  greatly  over  suits  and  gowns  when  the  fiddlers 
struck  up  their  tune  and  the  dance  began ;  and  the 
lanterns  in  the  barn  shed  always  a  most  kindly  light  on 
rubbed  seams  and  'kerchief  darns. 

Now,  on  this  Christmas  Eve,  the  old  building  was 
glowing  with  many  lanterns  and  jumping  firelight;  the 
walls  were  bright  with  gay  hangings,  wreaths  of  holly 
were  twined  about  the  rafters,  and  the  pale,  meek-seem- 
ing mistletoe  was  not  forgotten,  for,  from  the  middle  of 
the  roof,  a  huge  well-berried  bough  hung  low  to  gladden 
the  eyes  and  the  hearts  of  the  bolder  lovers.  The 
musicians — two  violins,  a  'cello,  and  a  double  bass  viol 
— sat  together  on  a  small,  raised  platform  at  one  end  of 
the  barn,  and  accounted  this  as  important  an  occasion  for 
sustained  effort  as  the  morrow,  when,  from  the  church 
gallery,  they  should  lead,  with  much  the  same  con- 
gregation to  follow,  the  full-throated  cry  of  "  Glory  to 
God  in  the  Highest ! " 

A  wonderful  gamut  of  life  it  was,  lining  the  old  barn 
walls;  from  serious-eyed  infants  in  their  mothers'  arms, 
capering  children  brimming  over  with  an  undefined 
jollity,  boys  and  girls  enwrapped  in  the  bashfulness  of 
their  tender  teens,  youths  and  maids,  comely  and  high- 
coloured,  flicking  conscious,  half-shamed  glances  upwards 
to  the  mistletoe,  to  men  and  matrons,  looking  upon  the 


152  A   SPANISH  MAW 

ways  of  youth  with  lenient  eyes,  though  somewhat 
sobered  by  the  cares  of  Ufe,  and,  perhaps  in  consequence, 
more  appreciative  of  the  good  fare  if  less  eager  for  the 
dance,  and  white-haired  granfers  and  grannies  who  sat 
and  gossiped,  and  judged  correctly  the  value  of  warmth 
and  plenty,  and  who,  having  outlived  all  uncomfortably 
strong  emotions  were,  perhaps,  the  happiest  of  all. 

Master  Humphrey  was  there  by  the  door,  of  course, 
to  greet  them  as  they  came,  and  take  their  good  wishes 
in  return;  and  every  Landecarrock  eye  beamed  pride 
upon  him  and  admiration,  varying  in  expression  accord- 
ing to  the  age  of  the  face  it  looked  out  from  ;  the  young 
ones,  whose  past  was  short,  deciding,  "  Never  was  there 
such  a  comely  squire ! "  the  old  ones,  recollecting  his 
infancy,  thinking,  "  Law !  how  fine  an'  comely  he've 
a  grow'd ! " 

Ann  Vitty  was  there  in  a  gorgeous  flowered  gown, 
brought  in  a  far  back  year  by  a  sailor  son  from  foreign 
parts,  and  with  intuitive  tact  had  seated  herself  on  a  bench 
beside  Daniel  Laskey,  giving  him  the  support  of  her 
familiar  presence  in  this,  his  annual  plunge  into  society. 
At  the  beginning  of  these  evenings  Ann  Vitty's  head 
was  always  held  somewhat  stiffer,  and  her  conversation 
fell  always  into  a  somewhat  more  formal  tone  than  usual 
— more  prone  to  platitude,  as  being  in  keeping  with  the 
unaccustomed  grandeur  of  her  toilet.     But  these  stiff- 


A   SPANISH  MAID  153 

nesses  wore  away  as  the  time  passed — indeed,  she  had 
fairly  got  the  better  of  them  this  evening  before  the 
company  had  all  assembled. 

•'  'Tis  a  fine  sight ! "  she  remarked.  "  An'  I  always 
says  the  same,  'tis  a  fine  an'  blessed  sight  to  see  so 
many  faces,  young  an'  old,  gathered  together." 

Daniel  was  feeling   the  responsibility  of  dialogue   at 
his  time  and  was  rising  to  the  occasion. 

"Yes,  Ann,"  he  agreed,  "  you'm  right." 

"An'   to    think   we'm    all    spared',   ceptin'    Thomas 

Capel's  boy,  to  meet  together  here  again "     Her  eyes 

were  roaming  round  the  room  in  gratitude  and  apprecia- 
tion of  her  fellow-creatures,  but,  at  that  point  in  her 
remark,  they  chanced  to  fall  on  the  big,  ungainly  figure 
leaning  against  the  opposite  wall,  and,  at  the  sight,  Ann 
Vitty  became  her  own  self  again  and  finished  somewhat 
irrelevantly.  "  Your  Sam'le  over  there  looks  a  bit  pale- 
faced  an'  peaky,  Dan'le." 

Daniel,  who  chose  to  ignore  the  rumours  which  had 
drifted  to  him  of  his  fifty-year-old  son's  late  danger, 
answered  grimly :  "  Cuttin'  a  tooth,  maybe." 

Ann  Vitty  could  have  enjoyed  the  parent's  opinion  of 
Sam'le's  adventure,  but,  knowing  Daniel's  ways,  she  only 
ventured  the  remark  that,  "He  do  look  weak,  poor  soul 
sure  enough." 

"'Tis   kindly   of  Master   Humphrey   to   provide   'en 


154  A   SPANISH  MAID 

with  a  wall  to  lean  'pon,"  said  Daniel  dully.  There 
was  no  encouragement  in  his  tone,  and  Ann  turned 
again  to  the  crowd. 

"  An'  the  parson,   too,  an'  Miss  Ursula !      Dear  old 
gentleman  !  he's  hearty  enough  in  his  peaky  way.     Why, 

he  must  be   getting  on  for "  then   she   ceased  for 

a  moment  and  caught  her  breath.  "There,  now,  I'm 
blessed  if  there  ain't  that  foreign  maid  come  in 
'long  with  Mary  Ludgven !  Well,  I  never  did  !  Who'd 
a-thought  it ! " 

And  the  last  remnants  of  Ann  Vitty's  self-conscious- 
ness fell  away  before  the  shock. 

In  the  midst  of  all  the  simple,  glad-faced  Lande- 
carrock  folk  the  foreign  girl  stepped  forward,  and  looked 
as  a  sun-touched  fire-fly  might  look  in  the  midst  of  a 
swarm  of  homely  moths.  And  at  that  moment  the 
fiddlers  drew  their  bows  across  the  strings  in  the  first 
notes  of  a  monotonously  lively  overture,  by  way  of 
warming  the  blood  for  further  efforts,  and,  hearing  it, 
Teresa  stood  still,  quivering  with  the  measure  of 
the  music,  and  allowed  Mary  to  go  down  the  room 
alone. 

As  the  air  rose  and  fell,  drawn  from  the  instru- 
ments by  the  proud,  perspiring  musicians,  she  turned 
with  a  glowing  face  and  looked  towards  Master 
Humphrey. 


A  SPANISH  MAID 


^SS 


"  He   is   to   dance  with   me ! "   she    thought   with   a 

confident   triumph.      "  And "   glancing    about    her 

contemptuously,  "it  is  certain  there  is  no  other  in  the 
company  fitting  to  dance  with  him." 

"  Will  'ee  dance  with  me,  Teresa  ?  "  It  was  'Zekiel's 
voice  which  interrupted  her;  he  had  drawn  close  to 
her  and  his  eyes  were  pleading  though  his  voice  was 
restrained. 

"No,"  she  answered  sharply,  guessing  his  question 
rather  than  hearing  it.  "No,  I  do  not  dance  with 
you." 

The  trace  of  her  blow  upon  his  cheek  had  scarcely 
died  away,  nor  had  the  bruise  of  the  remembrance  of 
it  from  his  heart,  but  his  love  was  as  strong  and  limit- 
less as  ever ;  there  was  no  alloy  in  that. 

"Teresa!"  he  pleaded,  "won't  'ee  give  me  just  this 
bit  of  happiness  ?  " 

"No,"  and  she  frowned  imperiously  as  her  eyes 
wandered  again  to  Master  Humphrey.  "No,  I  will 
not  dance  with  you." 

'Zekiel  saw  the  direction  of  her  glance  and  he  turned 
away  in  bitterness. 

When  he  had  gone  Teresa  looked  after  him  with 
fierce  relief  and  some  contempt,  but,  as  she  watched 
the  little  scene  which  followed  his  departure,  it  is 
certain    she    did    not    altogether    like    what    she    saw. 


156  A  SPANISH  MAID 

Agrimony — "that  hateful,  laughing  maid!"  standing 
beside  Job  Carvath  in  her  rosebud  cambric  gown,  with 
her  unruly  curls  tied  fast  in  a  knot  of  pink  ribbon,  and 
her  dark  eyes  dancing — with  those  same  quick  eyes  of 
her's  saw  'Zekiel  meet  his  refusal,  and,  as  he  walked 
away  from  the  foreign  maid,  she  turned  impulsively 
to  Job. 

"Go  'way  from  me,  Joby,"  she  begged  him.  "I'll 
dance  with  'ee  twice  for  it  by-'m-bye  if  you'll  go  'way 
from  me  now." 

"For  why?"  asked  Joby,  with  some  resentment  at 
the  maid's  sudden  caprice.  But  Agrimony  was  in 
nowise  given  to  needless  mystery. 

"  Why,  my  dear  soul,  I  want  to  make  'Zekiel  Myners 
.   dance  just  this  one  through  with  me,"  she  answered, 
with  a  broad  smile  which  robbed  the  act  of  its  flagrancy, 
"an'  vex  the  foreign  maid." 

Joby  began  to  see  the  situation. 

"  Hev  'er  served  'en  bad  ?  "  he  asked. 

"Served  'en  like  dirt  beneath  her  feet,"  she 
declared. 

"  An'  you  promise  me  true,  twice  by-'m-bye  ?  " 

"True's  I'm  here,"  she  promised,  and  he  walked 
away  and  left  her  solitary. 

Quick  as  thought  she  followed  'Zekiel  and  stood 
before  him. 


A   SPANISH  MAID  157 

"  'Zekiel  Myners,"  she  said,  all  sorrowful  and  long- 
faced,  "  did  'ee  ever  see  the  like  of  that  ?  " 

"  The  like  of  what  ?  "  asked  'Zekiel,  without  pretence 
of  interest.  The  sight  of  Agrimony  did  not  please 
him ;  she  recalled  the  pain  of  that  day  by  the  beach, 
and  he  had  pain  enough  without  that. 

"Why,  Job  Carvath,  he's  been  and  walked  away 
an'  left  me,  an'  just  as  the  dancin'  was  beginnin' " 

Through  'Zekiel's  own  unhappiness  there  filtered  the 
thought  that  this  maid  was  going  to  sob  and  that  he 
must  do  something  to  stop  it.  He  looked  down  at 
her  civilly  enough,  but  without  much  spirit. 

"  Shall  I  fetch  'en  back  to  'ee  ?  "  he  asked. 

"He  wouldn'  come,"  she  faltered,  "an' there  isn' no 
time.  Oh,  'Zekiel  Myners ! "  she  cried,  clasping  her 
hands  as  the  fiddlers  waxed  more  energetic,  "oh,  I 
couldn'  miss  it,  not  whatever  ! "  She  put  out  her  little 
hand  to  him,  "  I'll  do  as  much  for  you  some  day. 
Do  'ee,  CO'." 

In  a  dazed  sort  of  way  he  took  her  hand  in  his  and 
they  moved  forward  together,  and  though  the  glance 
which  Agrimony  sent  across  the  barn  was  but  a  flicker 
of  the  lids,  it  was  long  enough  to  show  her  that,  un- 
doubtedly, the  foreign  maid  was  not  pleased. 

Teresa  raised  her  chin  a  trifle  higher  and  looked 
again  for  Master  Humphrey. 


158  A   SPANISH  MAID 

But  Master  Humphrey,  gay-hearted,  smiling,  and  hos- 
pitable, did  not  glance  towards  her ;  he  was  playing  his 
part  of  squire  and  host  in  the  manner  which  his  guests, 
with  one  exception,  admired  and  expected  of  him.     As 
the  musicians  settled  down  to  the  well-known  changes  of 
the   rollicking  tune,   he  made   his  way  towards  Dame 
Tellam,  sitting  buxom  and  important  beneath  a  festooned 
Union   Jack,   the   three-inch   miniature   of    a   departed 
parent  heaving  upon  her  black  silk  bodice,  and,  taking 
her  hand,  he  escorted  her  to  the  top  of  the  room  that 
she  might  support  him  in  opening  the  proceedings  by 
leading  off  in  the  boisterous  intricacies  of  the  country 
dance. 

Teresa  paled  with  the  shock  of  her  surprise,  which 
was,  for  a  moment,  sharper  than  her  anger.  But  as  she 
watched,  as  she  saw  the  couples  form  themselves  in 
two  long  files  down  the  middle  of  the  room,  as  she 
heard  the  music  rising  and  falling,  saw  the  men  and 
maids  join  hands,  step,  curtsey,  glide,  and  cross,  all 
light  of  heart  and  light  of  foot,  absorbed  by  the  pleasure 
and  the  measure  of  the  dance,  whilst  she,  Teresa, 
stood  apart  and  unnoticed,  her  fury  burned  hot, 
and   her  straight   brows    lowered   above   her   glittering 

eyes. 

"  He  desired  me  to  come,"  she  raged  within  herself. 
"He  desired  that  I  would  dance  with  him,  and  I  am 


A   SPANISH  MAID  159 

left  to  stand  alone,  while  every  clumsy  village  fool  is 
dancing ! " 

And  the  sight  of  'Zekiel  aggravated  her  chagrin ;  her 
fury  included  him.  That  he  should  dance — that  he 
should  dare  to  dance,  while  she  was  left  to  stand  alone ! 

And  was  ever  a  dance  so  long  or  so  hideously  merry 
as  that  dance  ?  Was  ever  music  so  wearisomely  lively  ? 
Were  there  ever  such  monotonous  repetitions  of  melody 
and  gesture,  as  of  this  melody  and  these  gestures  to 
Teresa's  ears  and  eyes  as  she  stood  chafing  under  her 
mortification  ? 

And  the  jollity  of  Master  Humphrey  as  he  crossed 
arms,  bowed,  and  chassed  along  with  his  ponderous 
partner,  was  as  a  breeze  to  the  flame  of  her  fury. 

"  Dance  with  him !  I  will  not  dance  with  him  !  I 
will  not  speak  with  him  when  he  comes  to  me ! "  And 
her  teeth  were  fast  clenched  as  she  stood  and  watched 
him. 

At  length  the  final  crashing  chords  sounded  from 
the  fiddles  on  the  platform,  and  the  panting,  laughing 
couples  spread  themselves  and  made  towards  the 
benches  and  the  settles  for  rest  and  the  recovery  of 
their  breath,  some  maids  affecting  dizziness  on  the 
way,  thus  securing  the  support  of  a  muscular  arm  about 
the  waist,  some  spurning  such  support  with  make-believe 
affrontedness  when  placed  there  uninvited.     And  Master 


i6o  A  SPANISH  MAID 

Humphrey  laughed  and  breathed  quickly  as  the  others, 
as  he  led  Dame  Tellam  back  to  her  seat,  but  he  did 
not  look  towards  Teresa. 

After  some  minutes,  and  much  chattering,  the  fiddles 
wailed  forth  the  notes  of  a  second  dance,  a  statelier 
performance,  and  of  a  slower  pace ;  and  Teresa  waited, 
with  blazing  cheeks  and  w^rathful  eyes,  for  the  coming 
of  the  squire,  that  she  might  deal  him  the  blow  of 
her  refusal.  Then  the  company  rose  to  its  feet  again. 
Agrimony  was  claimed  by  another  swain ;  the  children 
separated  themselves  from  their  elders,  prepared  to  play 
the  part  of  audience  in  this  more  serious  performance ; 
but  still  Master  Humphrey  did  not  make  his  way  to 
Teresa,  With  laughing  eyes  and  deferential  air  he 
made  his  bow  before  Ann  Vitty,  and  craved  the  pleasure 
of  leading  her  to  the  place  of  honour  at  the  top  of 
the  square. 

Teresa  had  not  learned  the  customs  of  these  Christmas 
dances,  nor  the  rules  of  precedence  laid  down  by  tradi- 
tion, and  her  wrath  grew  difficult  to  hide.  'Zekiel, 
whose  eyes  craved  to  see  laughter  on  her  lips  when  so 
many  lips  were  laughing,  and  who  suffered  in  her 
mortification  as  she  suffered,  had  no  heart  for  pleasur- 
ing if  she  were  not  pleasuring  too.  He  sat  where 
Agrimony  had  left  him  and  he  watched  the  girl  he 
loved  with  unrest  in  his  eyes.     Then  the  sight  of  her 


A   SPANISH  MAID  16 1 

lonely  figure  nerved  him  to  brave  her  anger  again, 
and  as  the  dance  was  forming  he  rose  and  went  across 
to  her. 

"  Dance  with  me,  Teresa  ?  "  he  implored. 

She  turned  on  him  as  if  he  had  torn  at  her  wound. 
"  Silence  ! "  she  commanded  ;  "  I  do  not  dance  this 
night ! " 

He  did  not  betray  his  pain,  but  he  did  not  move 
from  her  side.  He  could  not  bear  that,  in  the  midst 
of  their  Landecarrock  pleasurings,  the  girl  he  loved 
should  stand  apart  and  lonely.  It  stung  him,  and 
she,  even  in  her  anger,  felt  some  comfort  in  his 
nearness. 

When  the  second  dance  was  over,  and  the  dancers 
were  holding  their  hands  to  the  heart-side  of  their 
bodices  and  fanning  their  heated  cheeks,  the  untired 
children  were  to  be  rewarded  for  their  inaction  by  one 
of  Landecarrock's  favourite  games,  which  included  chant- 
ing and  capering  to  the  accompaniment  of  the  fiddles ; 
and,  as  arrows  from  a  bow,  they  shot  from  their  seats 
and  formed  themselves  into  a  ring  in  the  middle  of 
the  room.  Then  Teresa  left  'Zekiel's  side  and  crossed 
to  where  Mary  sat  with  Zel  in  her  arms. 

To-night  the  Madonna-like  calm  which  had  been 
driven  from  Mary's  face  through  the  past  months 
seemed   to  have  come  back   to  it.     She  was  wearing 

h 


1 62  A   SPANISH  MAID 

a  gown  of  a  pale  grey  colour,  and  round  her  neck 
and  shoulders  lay  a  soft,  white  'kerchief,  fastened  with 
a  brooch  of  twisted  gold  —  Peter's  first  love-gift  to 
her  in  the  days  of  their  wooing. 

Through  the  first  dance  Ann  Vitty  had  given  lap- 
room  to  the  younger  Ludgven,  and  Mary  had  stood 
up  to  step  it  through  with  Peter,  just  as  in  the  old 
days  before  she  was  his  wife,  and  the  very  act  had 
seemed  to  set  things  right  again,  and  her  heart  was 
easier;  the  doubts  and  fears  seemed  to  have  shrunk 
away  to  nothings,  and  she  watched  the  children  now 
with  the  old  peace  lying  in  her  eyes. 

Seeing  Teresa  coming  towards  her  she  made  room 
on  the  bench  beside  her,  and  for  some  moments 
they  sat  there  together  in  silence  and  looked  upon 
the  antics  of  the  children,  as  they  were  led  by  Master 
Humphrey  and  Miss  Ursula.  Even  when  angry  ex- 
clamations broke  from  Teresa,  Mary  could  not  under- 
stand them;  she  could  see  that  the  girl  was  enraged 
but  she  could  not  guess  the  reason. 

When  the  frolic  was  over  the  parson  stepped 
forward  to  his  grand-daughter  as  she  stood  by  the 
squire,  and  then,  turning  to  his  people,  he  spoke  a 
few  words  of  Christmas  hopes  and  Christmas  wishes, 
with  a  beaming  smile  upon  his  thin  face;  and  then 
he  bade  them  all  "  Good-night,"  and  took  Miss  Ursula 


A    SPANISH  MAID  163 

away  with  him,  for  the  parson's  hours  were  early, 
morning  and  night,  unless  his  flock  had  need  of 
him. 

It   was   when   the   fiddlers  were  turning  their   pages 
for   another   dance   that   Master   Humphrey  turned   to 
look  for  Teresa.     His  duties  were   over   for   the   time 
and   he   intended   to   fulfil    his    part   of    the    promise 
which    he   had   asked   and   she   had   given.      He   had 
just   been   holding   Ursula's  little   hand   and   wrapping 
her  white  frieze  cloak  about  her,  and  a  certain  gentle- 
ness which  had  then  come  into  his  face  and  his  voice 
had  not  left  them  as  he  came   to   Teresa   where   she 
sat  by  Mary's  side.     But  as  the  girl  saw  him  approach 
she  stiffened  in  her  wrath  and  set  her  teeth  hard  upon 
her  nether  lip.     'Zekiel,  with  eyes  which  he  could  not 
force   himself  to   draw   from   the  two  figures,  saw  the 
meeting,   and    his   temples  throbbed   near  to  bursting, 
and  a  mist   came  before  his  eyes,  a  mist  that  seemed 
to   grow  denser,  until,  even  in  his  pain  and  eagerness, 
he   wondered,    and   shut   his    lids   to   break   the    film; 
but   when  he   opened   them   again    the   mist   was   still 
before  his  sight. 

"  I  must  claim  you  for  the  dance  now,  Teresa,"  said 
Master  Humphrey  softly,  as  he  bent  towards  the 
girl. 

But   for  answer  she  rose  to  her    feet   in  voiceless 


l64  A   SPANISH  MAID 

passion  ;  she  clenched  her  hands  as  if  to  strike  him 
down  before  her ;  her  eyes  flashed 

The  mist  before  'Zekiel's  eyes  was  rising  in  a  Uttle 
cloud  now,  and  above  the  tuning  of  the  fiddlers  his 
voice  rang  out. 

"Fire!"  he  cried,  and  for  a  moment  the  barn  was 
silent  with  an  awful  hush. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

FIRE  ! " 
The  ghastly  word  burst  as  a  great  echo  from  the 
people,  breaking  the  hush  it  had  caused,  and,  as  the  cry 
left  their  lips,  the  blood  seemed  to  drain  from  their 
faces  and  go  with  it.  With  wide,  horrified  eyes  they  all 
rose  to  their  feet  and  looked  at  'Zekiel.  But  'Zekiel 
was  passive  and  unruffled,  and  he  was  looking  at  Teresa. 
Quickly  their  eyes  followed  his ;  they,  too,  looked  at 
Teresa,  and  then  they  saw  ! 

Up  the  flimsy  hangings  which  draped  the  wall  behind 
the  angry  girl  there  was  darting  a  great  tongue  of  flame, 
which  branched,  and  crept,  and  trembled,  up  and  along, 
then  pausing,  then  leaping,  then  broadening,  leaving 
a  fiery  trail  as  it  went,  which  glowed,  and  curled,  and 
shivered  as  if  it  were  alive. 

In  an  instant  Master  Humphrey  had  clutched  at 
Teresa  and  had  swung  her  back  into  the  middle  of  the 
room,  and,  leaping  on  to  the  bench,  was  puUing  at  the 

165 


1 66  A   SPANISH  MAID 

flaming  draperies,  trying  to  drag  them  to  him  and  crush 
them  in  his  arms.  But  the  fire  was  spreading  its  quick, 
yellow  tongues  above  and  beyond  his  reach,  Ucking  its 
way  from  flag  to  flag,  hurrying  with  a  ghastly,  noiseless 
hurry.  And  it  was  then  that  panic  fell  upon  the 
watching  company,  and  a  sudden,  shrill  lament  broke 
from  their  throats,  gripping  their  courage,  as  it  struck 
on  their  own  ears,  so  inhuman  it  sounded  and  so  dis- 
consolate. 

"  A  ladder  !  Water  ! "  shouted  Master  Humphrey, 
but  his  voice  was  drowned  in  the  clamour  which 
followed  that  first  cry — the  frenzied  shrieks  of  the 
children,  the  terrified  wails  of  the  women,  the  confused 
shouts  of  the  men — as  they  turned,  some  forcing,  some 
forced,  in  one  great  rush  towards  the  door. 

"  Ladder  !  "  shouted  Master  Humphrey  again. 

Peter  Ludgven  who  had  seen  his  need  was  already 
upon  his  way,  but  the  help  was  useless,  for,  having  once 
reached  the  open,  it  was  impossible  to  return.  From 
the  middle  of  the  room  to  the  doorway  a  mass  of 
struggling  persons  was  pressing  forward  with  a  din  of 
imploring,  hysterical,  terror-stricken  voices — a  din  for 
which  no  word  has  been  coined,  which  pierced  the 
ears  of  the  mind  and  echoed  there  for  ever.  And 
if  ever  there  came  a  lull  in  that  awful  sound  of 
absolute   fear,  there    could    be    heard    now    the    dull, 


A  SPANISH  MAID  167 

more  awful  roar  of  the  flames  as  they  leaped  on  their 
way  triumphantly. 

"  Give  help  here,  Myners ! "  shouted  the  squire,  as 
his  eyes  fell  on  'Zekiel  at  the  back  of  the  surging 
crowd.  But  'Zekiel  paid  no  heed.  The  fire  was 
nothing  to  him.  He  was  not  in  a  mood  to  care  for 
danger  or  pain;  he  had  Hved  beyond  them.  He  only 
knew  and  felt  that  here  was  Teresa,  close  to  him, 
shuddering,  frantic,  with  her  anger  shocked  from  her; 
and  his  heart  leaped. 

Dragging  her  back  and  catching  her  fiercely  to  him 
he  cried  in  triumph :  "  You'm  my  maid,  now,  darlin' ! 
My  darlin' !  You'm  mine !  I  don't  care !  If  we'm 
burnt  to  cinders,  I  don't  care !  I  don't  care !  "  And 
he  crushed  her  in  his  arms  in  his  furious  passion  of 
joy. 

But  Teresa  had  no  desire  to  be  his,  nor  to  become  a 
cinder.  Panic-stricken,  bewildered,  maddened  by  his 
hindrance  of  her,  she  shrieked  in  terror  and  rage,  and 
tore  and  fought  herself  from  his  hold,  turning  back  to 
the  crowd  in  a  wilder  frenzy  than  before  to  beat,  and 
tear,  and  force  a  path,  until  the  end  of  the  swaying  mass 
closed  round  her  and  she  went  from  his  sight.  Then 
'Zekiel's  arms  fell  slackly  to  his  sides,  and,  for  a  time, 
it  was  as  if  he  stood  desolate  in  a  solitary  place. 

And  the   cries  of  the  crowd  went   on  untiring,  and 


i68  A   SPANISH  MAID 

the  shouts  of  the  squire,  commanding  order  and 
common-sense,  were  drowned  as  they  left  his  lips,  and 
the  smoke  grew  dense  and  the  air  hot,  and  the  smell 
of  the  burning  and  the  sound  of  it  were  to  the  nostrils 
and  ears  as  if  they  had  always  been,  and  the  lurid, 
yellow  tongues  grew  fiercer,  licking  and  darting  from 
wall  to  rafter,  and  the  flaming  wreaths  and  the  charred 
drapings  dropped  on  to  the  press  of  choking,  fainting, 
struggling  persons  below.  And  those  who  chanced  to 
be  nearest  saw  that  the  little  door  set  in  the  big  double- 
doors  was  their  only  hope,  for  their  own  weight  barred 
them  from  the  unfastening  of  the  big  doors'  bolts. 

"  'Zekiel  Myners !  Wake  yerself  up  and  don't  be  a 
fool ! "  A  little  figure  in  a  smirched  and  torn  rosebud 
cambric  frock  pulled  him  by  the  arm  and  shook  him 
with  all  her  trembling  strength.  But  'Zekiel,  looking 
at  her  slowly,  only  stood  the  firmer,  and  then  she  knew 
what  was  in  his  mind.  A  wave  of  despair  broke  over 
her  as  she  glanced  wildly  round  and  saw  the  flames 
ever  hurrying  nearer.  It  was  so  awful  to  stand  still  and 
talk  slowly  with  death  at  her  elbow.  But  that  must 
be  done  if  it  was  'Zekiel  Myners'  life  she  was  after. 

"Why'm  'ee  a  fool,  'Zekiel  Myners?  You  won't  be 
best  pleased  with  the  feelin'  of  frizzlin'  to  death  when  it 
do  come."  She  forced  her  stiff  face  to  smile  with  a 
pitiful  levity.     "Do  'ee  think  you'll  look  pretty  when 


A    SPANISH  MAID  169 

you'm  roasted  ?  "  The  rafters  were  crackling  overhead, 
the  wall  near  to  her  was  glowing.  "You'm  thinkin' 
'twill  make  a  fine  tale  for  the  foreign  maid  to  hear,  to 
set  her  crying?  You'm  thinkin'  she'll  be  sorry  for 
'ee  ?  Just  to  have  her  sorry  for  a  minnit,  what's  that 
worth  ?  " 

"  She  will  be  sorry,"  he  said  softly  and  rapturously, 
and  Agrimony  guessed  his  words. 

"  But  she  won't ! "  she  cried  ruthlessly.  The  smile 
on  her  lips  7vould  grow  faint,  and,  feeling  it,  she  forced 
her  throat  to  laugh  though  her  voice  shook  through  it, 
and  made  the  laughter  come  in  ugly  jerks.  "  She  won't 
be  sorry.  She'll  come  'long  to  the  old  barn  when  'tis 
safe  an'  cold,  an'  she'll  make  sure  to  have  another  sweet- 
heart with  her — p'r'aps  one  more  to  her  taste  than  you ; 
an'  p'r'aps  she'll  stoopy  down  an'  pick  up  a  bit  of  cinder 
— p'r'aps  'twill  be  you  an'  p'r'aps  'twont — an'  then  the 
other  sweetheart  will,  maybe,  speak  somethin'  pretty  to 
her,  an'  she'll  forget  the  cinder  betwixt  her  fingers^  an' 
she'll  turn  her  great  shinin'  eyes  on  him,  like  as  if  he 
was  the  only  man  on  God's  earth." 

She  had  stirred  'Zekiel  at  last.  He  looked  at  her 
wildly,  and  a  groan  came  from  him,  but  he  did  not 
budge  as  she  pulled  at  his  arm. 

The  smoke  and  the  heat  had  become  terrible. 
Agrimony  felt  as  if  her   heart   would  choke  her;   her 


170  A   SPANISH  MAID 

words  seemed  to  grow  hard  and  painful  in  her  throat. 
For  a  moment  she  tried  to  make-believe  she  was  on 
Landecarrock  beach,  with  the  icy-cold  wind  in  her  face, 
and  the  drench  of  an  angry  wave  on  her  scorching  flesh. 
It  was  desperate  work  to  stand  calm  and  slow-speaking, 
when  every  pulse  in  her  body  seemed  to  be  forcing  her 
to  turn  and  save  herself,  but  she  saw  the  advantage  she 
had  gained,  and  when  words  would  not  come  she  fell  to 
laughing. 

Then  'Zekiel  turned  on  her.  But  Agrimony  faced 
him  insolently. 

"She'll  have  forgotten  'ee,"  she  tittered. 

"  She  won't  never  forget  me,"  declared  'Zekiel, 
clenching  his  hands  and  blazing  his  eyes  on  her. 

Seconds  were  precious  now.  The  flames  were  glowing 
on  her  bare  arms.  Truly  it  was  a  fellow-creature's  life 
she  was  bidding  for,  but  would  she  have  bidden  so 
persistently  for  Job  Carvath's  life?  Job  Carvath  was 
being  swept  on  in  the  crowd  so  there  was  no  proof  to 
be  brought. 

In  desperation  she  made  her  last  attempt. 

"No,  she  won't  never  forget  'ee,"  she  agreed,  with  a 
sudden  sadness  in  her  voice.  "  She'll  grieve,  an'  grieve 
finely,  when  she  sees  yer  poor  dead  body.  But  'twill  be 
her  sweetheart  what  '11  point  to  me,  as  I'm  lyin'  here 
beside  'ee,  an'  'II  say  :  '  'Zekiel  Myners  knew  how  to  make 


A  SPANISH  MATD 


171 


the  best  of  his  time ;  he  took  good  care  to  have  a  maid 
with  'im  to  the  last.'  An'  then  her  pretty  face  '11  grow 
white  an'  sorrowful,  an'  her  tender  heart  '11  break  to  think 
you  was  but  fickle  after  all " 

*'  Fickle  !  "  Agrimony  had  won  her  desire.  "  Fickle  ! " 
he  cried.  "  My  God  !  an'  for  the  likes  of  you  ! "  He 
tossed  off  her  hand  from  his  arm  in  his  wild  pain,  and, 
dashing  forward,  was  soon  mingling  with  the  surging 
mass  which  pressed  ever  on  towards  the  escape  which 
seemed  so  far  away. 

And  Agrimony  stood  quite  still  where  he  had  left  her, 
and  the  rigid  laughter-lines  were  still  about  her  lips ;  and 
then,  quite  slowly,  she  looked  upwards  at  a  fiery  festoon 
of  holly  hanging  ready  to  fall,  and  then  all  suddenly 
she  sank  to  the  floor  in  a  little  huddled  heap  of  rosebud 
cambric. 

Half-way  towards  the  doorway  Mary  Ludgven,  ignorant 
of  the  fate  of  husband  or  brother,  swayed  with  the  sway- 
ing human  mass,  her  baby  still  in  her  arms,  crushed  back 
against  her  breast.  She  did  not  cry  out,  and  the  press 
of  the  crowd  forbade  her  moving  forward  or  backward 
except  as  it  willed,  but  her  face  was  white  as  death,  and 
"  Peter !  Peter ! "  she  implored  in  soundless  words 
through  her  stiff  lips.  She  guessed  that  'Zekiel  must 
be  behind  her,  so  many  feet  further  from  the  chance  of 
life,  and  the  look  which  was  set  hard  on  his  face  when 


172  A  SPANISH  MAID 

last  she  had  seen  him  gave  her  an  added  pang.  Before 
her,  strugghng,  gasping,  crying  aloud  in  her  terror,  she 
could  sometimes  catch  a  glimpse  of  Teresa  as  she 
fought  her  way  inch  by  inch  towards  safety. 

At  last,  at  the  little  doorway,  she  caught  a  sight  of 
Peter,  and  though  his  face  was  haggard  with  anxiety, 
his  voice  was  cheery  as  he  cried  out — 

"Nobody's  goin'  to  be  burnt  if  they  only  takes  it 
sensible,  an'  comes  out  'cordin'  to  the  size  of  the  door. 
Don't  'ee  crush  so,  you  folks.  Keep  up  yer  hearts ! " 
And  then  he  strained  his  eyes  along  the  surging  faces  in 
search  of  his  own  folks. 

Mary  could  see  him  now  and  again  as  she  was  swayed 
from  side  to  side,  and  her  love  seemed  to  leap  in  her 
throat.  "  Peter !  Peter  ! "  she  uttered  faintly,  the  smoke 
well-nigh  choking  her  as  she  drew  each  breath.  But 
Peter  did  not  see  her.  She  tried  to  lift  Zel  high  that 
his  eye  might  be  caught  by  the  movement,  but  her 
arms  were  fast  pinned  by  the  press,  and  the  little 
fellow  wailed  with  the  pain  of  it.  And  then  the 
crowd  forced  her  aside  and  he  was  lost  to  her  sight 
again. 

At  length  Peter's  eyes  fell  on  Teresa  as  she  fought  her 
way  on,  with  blazing  face  and  starting  eyes. 

"  Where's  Mary  ? "  he  demanded  hoarsely,  as  the  girl 
neared  him. 


A    SPANISH  MAID  173 

"Mary  gone — safe!"  she  declared,  crying  the  lie 
aloud  in  her  terror.     "  Peter,  I  die  !  " 

When,  through  the  smoke  and  the  glare,  Mary 
Ludgven  caught  sight  of  Peter  again,  she  could  see  that 
he  was  not  looking  for  her;  his  eyes  were  shining  on 
Teresa,  and  she  saw  him  lean  forward  and  take  the  girl 
in  his  strong  arms,  then  bear  her,  clutching  and  clinging, 
away  to  safety  and  the  cool,  free  air.  And  she,  his  wife, 
and  his  little  child  were  left  to  faint,  or  struggle  on,  or 
die  alone  !     He  had  forgotten  her ! 

Death  had  been  awful  when  faced  so  closely,  but  the 
awfulness  of  death  faded  into  insignificance  before  the 
bitter  anguish  which  fell  on  Mary's  soul  as  her  eyes 
looked  upon  the  scene  framed  by  that  little  doorway. 
Above  the  clamour  she  had  not  heard  the  words ;  she 
had  only  witnessed  the  desertion.  Peter  was  gone ;  and 
he  did  not  come  back. 

*'  'Zekiel ! "  she  murmured  piteously,  and  in  her  pain 
she  strove  to  turn  towards  him,  but  the  crushing, 
panting  bodies  prevented  her.  To  go  back  was  im- 
possible. Husband  and  brother  had  forgotten  her. 
That  wild  creature  from  the  sea  had  stolen  their 
hearts  and  their  senses  from  them.  And  her  little 
child — the  only  thing  left  to  her — was  wailing  and 
sobbing  with  the  pain  from  which  she  could  not 
shelter  him.      Her  white  face  grew  awful  with  its  look 


174  ^  SPANISH  MAID 

of  deep-graven  agony ;  her  brain  throbbed  fiercely,  and 
it  seemed  as  if  each  smoke-charged  breath  must  be 
her  last. 

It  was  Master  Humphrey  who  carried  her  out  into 
the  biting  night  air  at  last,  just  as  she  felt  her 
senses  leaving  her,  and  placed  her  on  a  little  grass 
slope  beyond  the  crush  and  the  trampling,  bringing 
her  a  bowl  of  water  to  revive  her  before  he  left  her 
to  go  back  himself  and  give  more  help. 

"  Save  'Zekiel ! "  she  said  slowly,  in  a  quiet,  dazed 
way ;  "  mind  and  save  'Zekiel  !  " 

"  Nearly  every  one's  out  now,"  said  Master  Humphrey ; 
"and  we'll  soon  have  out  the  others.  You  rest  here, 
and   I'll   send   Peter   to   you ;    he's   tending  the   faint 


ones." 


But  the  sound  of  Peter's  name  sharpened  her 
senses  again,  and  the  pain  came  tearing  back  at  her 
heart.  She  could  not  meet  Peter  yet.  She  could  not 
bear  to  suffer  his  tardy  aid.  Tottering,  stumbling, 
shaking  in  every  limb,  with  her  baby  weighing  down 
her  aching  arms,  she  crept  away  from  the  glare,  and 
the  smoke,  and  the  noise,  into  the  darkness  of  the 
night,  with  only  a  great  longing  for  the  shelter  of  her 
own  home  mingling  with  her  heart-pain. 

And  when  she  had  dragged  herself  up  the  hill  and 
reached  the  little  white  cottage,   she   entered  in  and 


A   SPANISH  MAID  175 

closed  the  door;  and  then  a  piteous  moan  broke  from 
her.  But  she  did  not  shed  tears.  After  she  had  stood 
a  moment  in  the  darkness,  she  went  to  the  hearth  and 
stirred  the  embers  till  they  quickened  to  a  cheerful 
flame.  Then  she  lighted  a  candle,  and  looked  about 
as  one  looks  who  has  returned  after  a  long  journey. 

On  the  table  lay  the  spray  of  leaves  and  berries 
which  Teresa  had  designed  for  her  dark  hair  but  had 
discarded  at  the  last.  Across  the  arm  of  the  settle 
hung  Zel's  little  night-gown,  warm  and  ready  for  his 
wear;  beside  it  lay  Peter's  sou'-wester,  as  he  had 
thrown  it  aside  before  starting  for  the  squire's  dance. 
Everything  familiar,  everything  as  it  had  been  left 
a  few  hours  ago.     How  very  long  ago  it  seemed ! 

A  sleepy  wail  from  Zel  roused  Mary  from  her 
thoughts,  and,  sitting  down  before  the  hearth,  she 
undressed  the  tired  baby-body  and  hushed  it  to  sleep 
in  her  arms,  as  quietly  as  if  there  were  no  shadow 
athwart  her  life. 

But  when  Zel  had  sunk  to  sleep  she  laid  him  in 
his  cradle,  and  blowing  out  the  candle,  sat  by  the 
uncurtained  window  in  all  her  pretty  finery  and  looked 
out,  as  if  in  waiting  for  the  coming  of  the  dawn.  But 
her  eyes  saw  nothing  that  lay  beyond  their  lids ;  they 
were  looking  wide  and  full  upon  her  misery. 


CHAPTER  XIIL 

T  ^ERY  few  worshippers  climbed  the  hill  to  Lande- 

^        carrock    church    that    Christmas    morning.     In 

almost   every   cottage   there   were    pains    to   be   borne 

which   would    not   be   ignored  —  jealous    pains    which 

brooked  no  divided  attention,  scarcely  allowing,  indeed, 

for  decent  thankfulness  that,  as  yet,  all  lives  had  been 

spared. 

From   Daniel    Laskey,    lying   with   a   broken   rib   in 

his  cottage  down  by  the  boat-sheds,  to  Miss  Ursula's 

little   maid.  Agrimony,   waving   her  blistered   arms,  as 

she  tossed   deliriously  on   her   little  white   bed   up  at 

the   Parsonage.     From   Dame  Tellam's   staff  of  maids 

sobbing   or   swooning   in   Pensallas   kitchen   to   'Zekiel 

Myners  moaning  in  unconsciousness  from  the  blow  of 

a    falling    plank    in    his    little    room     beneath    Betty 

Higgins'  eaves,  there  was  woe  indeed  in  Landecarrock 

this  Christmas  Day. 

Soon  after  daybreak  Master  Humphrey  had  galloped 
17fi 


A   SPANISH  MAID  lyy 

back  from  Haliggan  —  where  he  had  ridden  off,  all 
smoke-grimed  and  exhausted  as  he  was,  as  soon  as 
the  fire  had  been  got  under — closely  followed  by  the 
cheery  little  doctor,  who  had  hurried  from  his  warm 
bed  and  renounced  his  Christmas  fare  and  festivities 
to  ride  along  the  bleak  backbone  of  the  downs  to 
Landecarrock  at  the  squire's  bidding,  without  a  thought 
that  he  was  somewhat  of  a  martyr  for  so  doing.  And 
together  they  had  gone  from  house  to  house,  easing 
the  sufferers  and  heartening  those  who  had  escaped 
sound-bodied ;  while  the  church  bells  pealed  out  the 
message  of  Peace  and  Good-will  in  a  sadly  disjointed 
fashion  to  their  ears,  for  five  of  the  ringers  were 
sitting  at  home  with  their  arms  swathed  in  linen 
and  oils. 

Never  before  within  Landecarrock  memory  had  the 
old  church  walls  failed  to  ring  with  the  rousing, 
whole-lunged  notes  of  the  Christmas  hymn  or  echo 
with  the  words  of  the  parson's  Christmas  discourse. 
But  on  this  woeful  day  old  ways  were  broken  through. 
There  had  been  a  disaster — a  disaster  which,  if  not 
exactly  "national,"  was  a  deal  more  absorbing;  and 
when,  before  he  opened  his  prayer-book,  the  parson 
turned  to  his  scanty  congregation  and  spoke  a  few 
words  of  comfort  and  sympathy  to  them  as  Lande- 
carrock  folk,    before   he   addressed   them    as   Christian 

M 


178  A  SPANISH  MAID 

brethren,  they  took  it  most  kindly,  and  no  one 
questioned  the  innovation.  The  old  man's  words 
touched  the  hearts  of  those  who  had  found  custom 
too  strong  for  them,  who  had  left  all  the  trouble  and 
excitement  of  the  village  behind  them  and  had  climbed 
the  hill  to  listen  to  him,  and  they  brought  out  their 
large  Sunday  handkerchiefs,  and  sniffed,  and  dried 
their  eyes  without  any  affectation  of  concealment. 

The  singing,  however,  was  but  a  dreary  affair,  for 
the  voices  were  few,  and  they  trembled  as  they 
"  pitched  the  tune  "  unaided  by  the  customary  wails  of 
the  stringed  instruments.  There  was  but  one  musician 
in  the  gallery,  and  he,  being  "bass  viol,"  had  no 
spirit  to  court  attention  as  a  soloist.  '"Twould  have 
seemed  like  fulsome  pride,"  he  remarked  afterwards, 
"  an'  I  hadn'  no  stummick  for  the  work." 

And  the  Christmas  dinners  were  neglected  as  the 
whole-bodied  tended  their  sick,  and  the  walls  of  the 
squire's  barn  were  still  smoking  sullenly,  and  the 
shock  of  the  fire  seemed  to  rest  upon  the  face  of 
the  village. 

Mary  Ludgven,  going  to  and  from  her  home  and 
'Zekiel's  sick-room,  was  the  only  one  who  volunteered 
no  words  on  the  matter  of  the  fire  and  its  ugly 
work.  Peter  had  found  her  still  sitting  by  the 
window    when,   with   Teresa    clinging   to   his   arm,   he 


A    SPANISH   MAID  179 

came  back  to  tell  her  of  'Zekiel's  accident,  and  she 
rose  without  a  word  or  a  cry  to  go  to  him.  She  looked 
terribly  white,  and  her  great  heart  was  sick  and 
desolate;  but  above  her  pain  there  came  a  curious 
thankfulness  that  here  was  something  for  her  to  do — 
hard  work  which  might  ease  the  unbearable  misery. 
Peter  put  his  arm  about  her  quickly  as  she  swayed 
on  first  rising  to  her  feet.  "  Thank  God ! "  he  mur- 
mured, and  his  voice  seemed  a  sob.  "Thank  God 
you'm  safe  ! " 

Mary  did  not  throw  off  his  arm,  or  turn  to  reproach 
him ;  she  stood  white  and  passive  for  some  moments, 
looking  still,  with  unseeing  eyes,  out  through  the  little 
window.  Only  when  he  kissed  her  she  raised  her 
hand  and  slowly  gripped  the  white  'kerchief  which  lay 
so  softly  over  her  aching  heart.  She  did  not  blame 
Peter ;  with  fine  justice,  she  told  herself,  that  he  could 
not  prevent  the  power  of  the  dark  girl's  bewitchments. 
But  that  realisation  did  not  bring  comfort  or  hope 
to  her.  Peter  could  forget  his  wife  and  his  child 
when  their  lives  were  in  ghastly  danger,  and  could  rest 
content  to  clasp  his  arms  about  the  girl  who  stole 
his  senses. 

Peter,   looking  at   her   with   troubled   eyes,  did   not 
guess  at  the  pain  she  was  bearing. 

"  She's  dazed  with  things,"  he  thought,  as  he  walked 


i8o  A   SPANISH  MAID 

beside  her  to  Betty  Higgins'  cottage  and  watched 
her  unmoved  face  as  she  looked  upon  'Zekiel  lying 
there  unconscious. 

Teresa,  left  by  herself  in  the  kitchen,  grew  some- 
what irritated  at  the  desertion.  She  had  undergone 
much  fear  and  danger,  and  felt  that  she  had  a  right 
to  sympathy;  but  Peter  and  Mary  had  gone  from 
her  without  a  word  or  a  look,  hurrying  away  to  pity 
and  gaze  upon  'Zekiel,  who  was  stunned  and  could 
be  none  the  better  or  worse  for  their  pity  or  their 
gazing.  When  she  had  watched  husband  and  wife 
out  of  sight,  she  turned  to  look  at  sleeping  Zel, 
her  only  companion,  and  for  a  moment  contemplated 
shaking  him  into  wakefulness,  but  on  reflection  she 
decided  that  such  a  course  would  not  better  matters, 
and,  leaving  him  in  peace,  she  made  her  way  into 
Mary's  little  larder,  where  she  comforted  herself  to 
some  extent  with  the  materials  she  found  ready  to  her 
hand.  When  that  distraction  had  lost  its  first  charm, 
she  climbed  the  stairs  to  her  own  little  room,  and 
went  to  bed.  The  events  of  the  night  had  tired  her 
as  a  child  is  tired  after  a  fit  of  passion  and  a  fright, 
and  she  was  soon  fast  asleep — in  a  sleep  as  childlike 
and  untroubled  as  that  of  Zel,  lying  in  his  cradle  in 
the  kitchen  below. 

And  Christmas   Day  wore  on — with  strange,   unreal- 


A   SPANISH   MAID 


I8i 


seeming  hours,  and  the  biting  cold  of  the  night 
turned  to  a  heavy  clamminess,  and  the  wind  shifted 
round  to  south.  When  the  short  afternoon  was  draw- 
ing in,  and  the  last  sufferer  had  been  eased,  the 
doctor  stood  in  Master  Humphrey's  room  and 
swallowed  a  hasty  meal  as  he  waited  for  the  saddling  of 
his  mare.  Then  he  mounted  her  and  turned  her  head 
homewards,  cheerily  promising  to  come  back  next  day. 

To  the  turn  by  Betty  Higgins'  cottage  Master  Hum- 
phrey walked  beside  him,  and  spoke  of  oils  and 
bandages,  and  such  like  subjects,  but  at  that  point 
he  bade  the  little  man  "  Good-bye,"  standing  to  watch 
his  odd  little  figure  in  the  big  brown  cloak  he  wore, 
as  the  good  mare  set  her  back  for  the  steeper  bit 
of  work  before  her.  Then,  instead  of  facing  down 
the  village  again,  with  a  sudden  impulse,  Master 
Humphrey  turned  the  corner  by  Betty  Higgins' 
cottage,  and  going  along  the  back  of  it,  by  Ann 
Vitty's  fuchsia  bush,  walked  slowly  on  and  up  towards 
the  Parsonage. 

It  was  Ursula  who  opened  the  door  in  answer  to 
his  knock,  and  she  gave  a  little  exclamation  of  glad- 
ness when  she  saw  him  standing  there;  so,  although 
he  had  not  known  before  why  he  was  there,  nor  what 
he  meant  to  do,  he  followed  her  without  demur  to 
the  parson's  room. 


i82  ^   SPANISH  MAID 

"Does  the  little  maid  go  on  as  we  hoped?"  he 
asked,  as  they  stood  together  by  the  hearth. 

"  She  is  better,  'Lizabeth  says,  quieter  and  more  like 
to  sleep.  'Lizabeth  is  with  her  now,  and  sent  me  away 
lest  I  should  talk — lest  she  should  talk,  I  say."  A 
faint  smile  crept  into  her  anxious  eyes.  "And  grand- 
father— he  is  in  the  village  amongst  the  people,  and 
I — was  all  alone,  and " 

"And  scared  by  your  own  company,"  he  declared, 
with  a  short  laugh.  Laughter  did  not  yet  come  very 
easily  to  either  of  them;  the  laughter-lines  seemed 
to  have  become  stiffened  by  the  stern  things  which 
had  faced  them  since  they  had  parted  in  the  barn. 

"I  was  glad  to  see  you,"  she  admitted,  half-shamed 
at  her  own  past  timorousness.  "  But  please  rest, 
Humphrey,"  she  added,  quickly,  as  she  looked  at 
him  and  noted  his  face  in  the  soft  candle-light. 

He  was  still  wearing  the  caped  riding -coat  which 
he  had  hurried  on  while  waiting  for  his  horse  to  be 
saddled  so  many  hours  ago,  and  as  he  sank  into  a  deep 
chair  and  laid  his  head  back,  she  could  see  that  he 
was  white  and  haggard,  and  his  eyes  looked  weary. 
The  big  lamp  which  hung  from  the  roof  had  not 
been  lit  this  evening,  but  the  candle-light  showed  the 
pallor  and  the  lines  of  weariness. 


A   SPANISH  MAID  183 

"  I  am  not  in  very  fine  trim  to  come  into  a  lady's 
presence,"  he  said  quietly. 

"  You  are  weary,"  declared  Ursula,  saying  his  excuses 

for  him.      "And "  she  added,   "I  think  that  you 

are  hungry." 

"Hungry?"  he  repeated,  doubtfully.  "Hungry?" 
Then,  turning  to  her  with  something  of  his  own 
laughing  look  :  "  I  believe  you  are  right.  I  am  just 
hungry." 

"When  did  you  eat  last?"  she  enquired,  with  a 
pretty  severity  on  her  face. 

"  Ah  !  when  ?  —  I  cannot  remember.  I  think  it 
must  have  been  in  some  former  age.  Some  time 
before  that  ugly  flame  ran  up  the  wall  and  burned 
the  big  gap  between  yesterday  and  to-day." 

She  stood  up  again,  and  looked  at  him  with  her  old- 
fashioned  little  air  of  hospitality.  "You  must  have 
some  food,"  she  said;  "  I  will  bring  some  to  you." 

"  I  believe  I  wish  for  some  very  much,"  he  admitted, 
"now  I  lay  my  thoughts  upon  it.  Let  us  go  together 
and  hunt  for  some;  I  used  to  storm  a  larder  with 
excellent  results." 

"  You  are  so  weary,"  she  protested. 

"  No,  so  hungry,"  he  corrected,  as  he  rose  and 
followed  her. 

In  the  larder  they  found  'Lizabeth's  store  of  Christmas 


i84  A   SPANISH  MAID 

fare  ranged  upon  the  shelves,  and  Master  Humphrey, 
being  allowed  free  choice,  favoured  a  capon  pie  and 
a  neat's  tongue. 

"  I  feel  myself  growing  back  to  such  a  boy — oh, 
such  a  boy ! "  he  whispered,  as  with  the  pie  in  one 
hand  and  the  dish  of  tongue  in  the  other,  he  tip- 
toed his  way  to  the  kitchen,  preceded  by  Ursula 
bearing  a  loaf  of  bread. 

Ursula  laughed  softly.  "  Must  I  then  grow  back  to 
baby  girlhood  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  I  see  no  necessity,"  he  declared.  "  I  do  not  profess 
to  set  examples.     I  but  prove  a  rule  occasionally." 

In  single  file  they  went  from  cupboard  to  linen-press, 
from  dressers  to  dining-room,  collecting  table-cloth, 
knives,  forks,  plates,  glasses,  and  a  decanter  of  good  red 
wine,  talking  in  whispers  and  laughing  softly  as  they 
went  lest  'Lizabeth's  quick  ear  above  stairs  should 
catch  sound  of  them,  and  her  sense  of  duty  force  her  to 
forsake  her  post  by  Agrimony's  side. 

"Phew!  The  heat  of  this  evening  is  unbearable!" 
exclaimed  Master  Humphrey  as  they  reached  the 
parson's  room  again.  "  'Tis  as  if  that  barn  of  mine  had 
scorched  the  whole  land." 

He  laid  his  collection  upon  the  table,  and  flung  off 
his  riding-coat.     "May  I  open  a  window?"  he  asked. 

"Ah!    yes,"    assented    Ursula.      "Why   should    we 


A   SPANISH  MAID  185 

pant  for  air,  when  there  is  a  whole  worldful  of  it 
beyond  the  walls  ?  " 

But  it  seemed  as  if  there  was  not  a  worldful  of  it 
beyond  the  walls.  Master  Humphrey  kneeled  upon 
the  window-seat  while  his  small  hostess  set  the  table 
for  his  meal,  and  he  leaned  out  into  the  darkness,  but 
the  world  outside  was  close,  and  hot,  and  airless.  He 
tried  to  pierce  the  blackness  that  closed  up  beyond  the 
bar  of  soft  light  which  shone  out  from  the  room  behind 
him,  but  he  could  not  distinguish  the  horizon.  And  the 
sea  itself,  which  had  splashed  its  breakers  up  the  cliffs 
with  a  crisp  "swish"  when  he  had  listened  to  it  last, 
while  arraying  himself  for  the  dance  the  evening  before, 
now  struck  with  a  sullen,  muffled  boom ;  while  above  the 
slow  sound  of  it  there  came  a  peculiar  sucking  noise, 
as  if  the  lips  of  the  waves  were  draining  the  shingle  on 
Averack  beach. 

"I  do  not  fancy  this  weather  for  Christmas,"  said 
Master  Humphrey,  as  he  turned  back  to  the  room  again 
and  obeyed  the  wave  of  Ursula's  little  hand. 

He  was  really  monstrously  hungry,  and  the  pie 
was,  indeed,  most  excellent.  Then,  too,  the  sight  of 
Ursula  at  the  other  end  of  the  small  table  was  extremely 
pleasant  to  his  eyes ;  he  insisted  that  she  should  share 
his  feast,  for,  he  declared,  he  had  become  surfeited  with 
loneliness   and   could   not  bear   another   soHtary  meal. 


i86  A  SPANISH  MAID 

And  Ursula,  with  a  pretty  mingling  of  courtesy  and 
childishness,  yielded  to  his  insistence,  and  took  the 
plate  he  held  to  her,  with  a  gracious  compliance. 

It  was  but   a  one-course  meal,  but  much  time  was 
spent   in   the   partaking   of  it.     Ursula,    to   whom   the 
scene   was   something    new   and   unusual,    in   her   own 
mind  fell  to  playing  it  out  in  that  undefined  land  of 
hers  where  all  romance  took  place.     To  her  the  parson's 
room  became  the  gem-set  chamber  of  the  palace,  the 
plates  were  gold,  the  glasses  pure  crystal,  and  Master 
Humphrey  must,  perforce,   do  duty   as   the   imaginary 
prince.     To  Master  Humphrey,  who  guessed   none  of 
her  imaginings,  the  scene  was  good  enough  as  it  stood ; 
that   half-shy  queenhness   of   hers   was   most  engaging, 
and   he   did   not   care  to  hurry  to  the  end  of  it  and 
break  the  spell. 

The  interruption  came  at  length  by  the  sound  of  the 
turning  of  the  heavy  handle  of  the  outer  door,  and  in 
another  minute  the  parson  was  in  the  room,  and  they 
saw  him  turn,  with  courtly  hospitality,  to  welcome  a 
guest  who  had  accompanied  him.  Rising  to  their  feet 
they,  too,  turned  towards  the  door,  and  then  they  saw 
that  the  newcomer  was  the  foreign  girl,  Teresa. 

"  My  dear,"  said  the  parson,  turning  to  Ursula,  "  the 
village  folks  are  over-busy  bearing  their  pains  or 
ministering   to   the  pains   of  their    neighbours,   and   I 


A    SPAmSH  MAID  187 

fear  that  this  poor  stranger-maid  has  been  somewhat 
forgotten.  I  found  her  wandering  alone,  seeming  deso- 
late and  uncared-for,  and  I  brought  her  to  our  home 
that  we  might  minister  to  her  comfort  for  a  while." 

Ursula  stepped  forward  and  half  held  out  her  hand 
to  draw  the  stranger  to  the  hearth,  but  some  impulse 
checked  her,  and,  instead,  she  drew  a  chair  towards  her 
and  smiled  a  welcome  to  the  girl.  But  Teresa's  eyes 
had  fallen  on  Master  Humphrey,  and,  at  the  sight,  she 
stiffened,  and  Ursula's  welcome  was  wasted. 

"Ah,  Humphrey!"  said  the  parson  turning  to  the 
squire,  "  I  am  pleased  to  see  you  here  resting  at  last. 
You  have  undergone  much  since  we  exchanged  our 
Christmas  greetings  in  the  poor  old  barn.  May  I  ask 
you  to  remain  here  a  while  and  assist  Ursula  in  her 
entertainment  of  the  stranger.  You  know  her  language 
and  will  be  invaluable;  and  I,  myself,  have  still  some 
visits  to  pay  amongst  the  sufferers." 

"  I  will  stay  gladly,  sir,"  said  Master  Humphrey,  as  he 
looked  from  the  parson  to  the  two  figures  by  the  hearth. 
"  I  will  stay  until  your  return."  For  some  unreasonable 
reason  the  sight  of  Ursula  and  Teresa  standing  there 
side  by  side  did  not  please  him,  but  he  preferred 
to  stay  and  look  at  it  rather  than  go  and  leave  them 
together. 

"Thank   you,   Humphrey,"  said  the  parson,  and  in 


1 88  A   SPANISH  MAID 

a  few  moments  his  gaunt  figure  was  moving  down 
again  through  the  outside  darkness  towards  the  village. 

"  You  will  eat,  Teresa  ? "  asked  Master  Humphrey, 
as  he  went  forward  to  set  a  plate  and  a  glass  for  her. 

But  Teresa's  eyes  had  left  his  face,  and  were  now 
moving  slowly  over  the  wonderful  walls  of  the  parson's 
room.  She  was  seeing  the  colour  and  the  beauty  of  them 
for  the  first  time,  and  the  points  of  light  where  the 
facets  of  the  gems,  and  the  quartz,  and  the  crystals 
caught  the  shine  of  the  candles  and  the  fire.  In  some 
curious  manner  the  gleam,  and  the  sparkle,  and  the 
strangeness  of  it  all  seemed  to  excite  and  intoxicate 
her.  A  quick  transition  of  mood  came  over  her  as 
she  looked;  she  was  setting  aside  her  anger  and  her 
resentment,  and  again  was  feeling  the  full  measure  of 
her  power. 

Looking  at  her  Master  Humphrey  was  reminded  of 
the  night  on  which  she  had  come  to  him  at  Pensallas 
and  had  fallen  absorbed  in  the  beauty  of  her  sur- 
roundings. He  stood  and  watched  her  in  silence 
until  Ursula  touched  his  arm  gently  and  reminded  him 
of  hospitality.  Then  he  went  closer  to  the  Spaniard. 
"  You  will  eat,  Teresa  ?  "  he  asked  again. 

She  turned  her  dark,  pleasure-steeped  eyes  upon  him. 
"  Ah  ! "  she  sighed,  "  how  it  is  beautiful !  beautiful ! 
beautiful ! " 


A  SPANISH  MAID  189 

"Come,"  he  urged,  "there  is  some  merit  in  this  pie 
also,"  and  he  placed  a  chair  before  the  plate  which 
he  had  set  for  her.  With  a  quick,  excited  spread  of 
her  hands  she  came  to  the  table  and  watched  him  as 
he  placed  food  upon  her  plate  and  poured  wine  into 
her  glass. 

But  Teresa  did  not  eat.  She  took  the  tall  glass  and 
drained  the  wine,  and  then,  still  toying  with  the  stem, 
she  turned  quickly  from  side  to  side  to  look  again 
upon  the  wonderful  walls. 

"Alas,  we  did  not  dance  together!"  said  Master 
Humphrey  at  length,  interrupting  her  absorption,  from 
his  seat  by  the  open  casement. 

At  that  she  turned  on  him.  "  No,"  she  answered, 
"  we  did  not  dance  together."  There  was  no  apparent 
anger  in  her  eyes,  but  they  were  glittering  strangely. 
And  Ursula,  from  her  little  oak  chair  by  the  hearth, 
watched  her  half-fearfully. 

"  The  fire  was  ill-timed,"  he  laughed. 

"  The  fire  was — as  hell,"  she  answered.  "  But  it 
was  not  fire  which  stayed  my  dance.  I  did  not  dance 
that  night." 

"You  dared  not  display  your  powers  before  us?" 
he  questioned,  still  laughing. 

"  I  dared  not !  "  she  cried,  her  eyes  flashing  and  her 
brows  lowering.  "  Dared  not !  You  say  I  dared  not 
dance !    You — you  heavy-footed  English  ! " 


190  A   SPANISH  MAID 

"You,  at  least,  have  given  us  no  proof  of  your  own 
light-footedness,"  he  persisted,  amused. 

At  his  feigned  incredulity  she  started  from  her  chair, 
and  for  a  moment  both  Ursula  and  Master  Humphrey 
held  their  breath. 

"  You  say  I — I  from  Spain,  dare  not  dance  ! "  she 
cried,  clutching  at  the  long,  scarlet  scarf  which  was 
lying  loosely  wound  about  her  shoulders.  "  I  will  show 
you  if  I  dare  not  dance  !  Dance  as  no  leaden-footed 
English  could  dance — no,  not  in  their  dreams  ! " 

She  stepped  quickly  to  the  space  of  bare,  polished 
floor  at  the  farther  side  of  the  room,  and  catching  the 
hem  of  her  full,  scarlet  skirt  and  the  heavy  fringe  of 
her  scarf  dexterously  in  one  hand,  she  twined  the  other 
end  of  the  scarf  about  her  free  arm,  and  raising  one 
foot  slowly,  began  to  lilt  a  weird,  measured  air.  In 
another  moment  the  notes  quickened  and  grew  louder, 
and  soon  the  girl  was  swaying,  turning,  waving,  twist- 
ing, in  all  the  graceful  intricacies  of  a  Spanish  taran- 
tella. 

In  the  whole  of  her  short  life  Ursula  had  seen 
nothing  so  wonderful  before.  She  sat  looking  with 
fascinated  eyes  upon  the  whirling  figure,  and  listening 
with  entranced  ears  to  the  strange,  quick  notes  of  the 
girl's  voice.  The  sight  seemed  to  fit  the  unreal  mood 
which  was  lying  with  full   power  upon  her  this  night. 


A  SPANISH  MAID  igi 

In  imagination  she  was  Tar  from  Landecarrock ;  the 
gem-set  room  lay  in  some  opulent,  unnamed  city  of 
the  far  East;  the  swaying,  whirling  form  before  her 
was  the  favourite  slave-beauty  of  the  palace,  brought 
here  to  dance  for  her — Princess  Ursula's — pleasure, 
the  music  was  the  music  of  merry  days  and  light 
hearts. 

It  was  wonderful !  It  was  exquisite  !  With  absorbed, 
dilated  eyes  she  watched  as  one  would  watch  a  dream- 
vision,  conscious  that  it  must  vanish  if  but  one  waking 
thought  should  creep  into  the  mind.  And  the  scarlet 
figure  whirled  on  madly,  and  the  gem-set  wall  behind 
it  gleamed  and  glittered  with  the  movements,  as  if  each 
facet  were  a  living,  admiring  eye ;  and  the  quick  voice 
lilted  on,  with  a  slight  tremor  as  the  breath  came 
quicker — a  tremor  which  only  served  to  strengthen  the 
spell,  the  witchery  of  the  scene,  and  set  the  listeners' 
blood  coursing  in  their  veins.  And  the  little  Lande- 
carrock lady  sat  enthralled,  bewitched,  as  for  the  first 
time  she  saw  her  wonderful  imaginings  crystallised  into 
shape  before  her  waking  eyes. 

Curious  changes  were  passing  over  Master  Humphrey's 
mind,  as  he  sat  silent  by  the  open  window.  He  did 
not  once  draw  his  eyes  from  the  dancing  girl,  and  the 
moment  of  amused  suspense  he  had  felt  when  she 
rose  from  her  chair,  quickly  gave  place  to   admiration 


192  ^   SPANISH  MAID 

— full,  unstinted  admiration,  paid  to  the  perfection  of 
the  performance.  He  had  looked  on  Spanish  girls 
at  their  dancing  before  this  night,  but  this  dance  and 
this  girl  were  unlike  anything  he  had  seen  before.  The 
smiling  lips  fascinated  him ;  the  glittering  eyes  held 
him.  His  very  senses  seemed  caught  in  the  whirl  of  the 
scarlet  draperies.  But  as  the  minutes  passed,  a  vague 
distaste  crept  across  his  mind ;  the  dance,  though 
beautiful  and  finished,  half-troubled  him.  It  seemed 
evil ;  the  vivid,  alluring  figure  seemed  wrong,  whirling 
so  madly  in  the  stately  beauty  of  the  parson's  room. 
It  struck  him  as  incongruous,  and,  by  degrees,  he 
hated  it,  and,  in  his  uneasiness,  half-rose,  instinctively, 
to  try  to  stop  it. 

Then,  all  suddenly,  the  quick  lilting  was  over,  and 
the  girl's  voice  fell  into  a  slow,  wild  song  of  her  tribe, 
a  passionate,  appealing  incantation,  and  her  feet  moved 
slowly  to  the  new  measure. 

Fascinating  as  the  tarantella  had  been,  this  strange 
music  held  in  it  something  far  more  weird  and 
mysterious.  There  was  no  need  now  for  the  little 
dreamer  to  picture  unreal  things  with  the  eye  of  her 
mind,  the  reality  was  sufficiently  wonderful.  This  room 
which  both  listeners  knew  so  well,  became  suddenly 
unnatural — strange  to  them;  as  if  in  past  times  they 
had  seen  it  through  a  veil.     The  treasures  of  the  walls 


A   SPANISH  MAID  193 

Stood  out  with  a  curious  distinctness  ;  the  atmosphere 
grew  heavy  and  suffocating ;  there  seemed  to  be  no 
air  left  in  the  world  ;  an  invisible  weight  pressed  down 
upon  them ;  and  yet  they  did  not  draw  their  eyes  from 
the  girl,  but  watched  her,  feeUng  that  some  strange 
thing  must  happen,  and  that  they  must  look  to  her 
for  the  signal. 

Then,  as  they  looked  and  listened,  they  heard  her 
passionate  cry  ring  out  wildly;  they  saw  her  spread 
her  arms  high  towards  the  domed  roof;  and  then,  with 
terror  on  her  face,  she  sprang  forward,  and  the  room 
was  filled  with  a  blaze  of  light  which  played  around 
them  all,  and  trembled,  and  then  went  out,  leaving 
them  again  in  sudden  gloom. 

Then  came  a  rattling  crash,  as  if  the  roof  were 
splitting  under  the  fire  of  artillery.  And  before  the 
rattling  had  ceased  came  another  blaze  of  light,  followed 
by  a  booming  roar,  as  of  a  hundred  harvest-waggons 
breaking  into  a  mad  race  for  life  across  wooden  bridges 
overhead. 

Master  Humphrey  and  Ursula  sprang  to  their  feet, 
but  Teresa  had  already  rushed  from  the  room,  and, 
hurrying  after  her,  they  saw  her  pulling  madly  at  the 
handle  of  the  outer  door.  Before  they  reached  it, 
however,  she  had  opened  it,  and  was  speeding  through 
the  darkness. 

N 


194  ^   SPANISH  MAID 

Flash  followed  flash,  and  roar  beat  upon  roar,  and 
in  the  light  of  the  quick  flames  which  jerked  across 
the  sky,  they  could  see  her  making  for  the  cliff;  then 
without  a  word  they  took  hands  and  raced  after  her 
through  the  tumult  of  the  night. 

They  found  her  on  her  knees  at  the  cliff- edge, 
pointing  outwards  across  the  water. 

"  See  !  See  ! "  she  whispered  hoarsely.  And  they 
looked. 

In  the  quick  blaze  of  light  which  brought  the  very 
foam-lines  into  distinctness,  they  saw,  far  out  upon 
the  waters,  a  ship,  large,  and  black,  and  of  a  curious 
build.  Then  the  blaze  went  out  and  they  were  in 
darkness  again.  But  darkness  was  as  light  to  Teresa, 
for  the  ship  was  pictured  plain  upon  the  retina  of  her 
eye. 

"  See  !  See  !  "  she  repeated.  But  the  words  came 
slowly  now ;  her  terror  was  gone,  and  she  gazed  as 
one  spell-bound. 

There  was  no  need  to  go  or  call  for  help ;  the  ship 
was  not  in  distress;  she  was  moving  slowly  on  her 
way  through  the  night  and  the  storm  :  and,  answering 
some  imperative  impulse,  Master  Humphrey  and  Ursula 
kneeled  upon  the  short  turf  beside  Teresa,  and,  looking 
out  to  sea,  waited  for  the  flashes  as  they  came  to  light 
the  scene.     It  seemed,  then,  as  if  there  were  nothing 


A    SPANISH  MAID  ,95 

else  in  the  world  worth  doing  but  just  to  kneel  there 
and  wait  for  the  quick,  fleeting  glimpses  of  the  black 
ship.  And  in  the  darkness  their  cheeks  burned,  and 
their  eyes  were  strained,  and  never  a  word  was  spoken 
except  those  slow  syllables  by  Teresa,  as  she  still 
pointed  seaward,  and  whispered  :  "See  !     See  !  " 

And  the  thunder  crashed  across  the  sky,  rattling  and 
roaring,  and  the  night  lay  hot,  and  airless,  and  heavy 
upon  everything,  and  the  world  seemed  as  a  battle- 
field on  which  deafening  and  terrible  deeds  were 
v/rought  in  the  darkness  by  vast,  invisible  armies. 
And  an  hour  passed,  and  still  they  kneeled  and 
watched. 

At  length  the  flashes  came  less  frequently,  and  the 
rattle  and  the  roar  faded  into  a  muffled  booming ;  and 
by-and-bye,  as  they  still  crouched,  waiting,  there 
came  the  sound  of  footsteps  on  the  turf.  Then  Master 
Humphrey  roused  himself  and  spoke. 

"Who's  there?"  he  called.  And  the  parson's  voice 
came  in  answer. 

"  There  appears  to  me  to  be  a  certain  bodily  risk " 

he  began  gently. 

"  Ah  !  we  are  watching  a  ship — a  strange  ship  ! "  in- 
terrupted Master  Humphrey,  in  some  excitement.  "  No 
wreck,  but  a  most  strange  vessel." 

"Ah!"    commented    the    parson,     and     he     stood 


196  A   SPANISH  MAID 

beside  them,  and  with  them  waited  for  the  next  flash 
of  light. 

But  the  storm  was  passing,  and  they  were  forced  to 
wait  long,  even  over-long  the  waiting  proved,  for,  when 
the  next  flash  trembled  across  the  sky,  there  was  no  ship 
lying  up  against  the  horizon ;  it  was  as  if  it  had  passed 
with  the  storm,  and  the  sea-line  was  bare  from  head- 
land to  headland,  and  from  breakers  to  sky-line  there 
lay  nothing  but  a  waste  of  heaving  water. 

"  Come,"  said  the  parson,  "  she  has  gone  upon  her 
way  ;  let  us  also  go  upon  ours." 

For  some  moments  the  three  kneeling  figures  knelt 
on,  filled  with  a  strange  wonder,  finding  no  word  to 
fit  their  tongues ;  then  they  rose  in  silence  and  obeyed 
him. 

"  Humphrey,"  said  the  parson,  "  if  you  will  favour 
me  by  escorting  Ursula  to  the  Parsonage,  I  will  my- 
self see  my  young  guest  safely  back  to  shelter." 

"  I  will,"  said  Master  Humphrey  slowly,  as  if  his 
own  voice  were  new  to  his  ears. 

And  turning  to  take  their  separate  paths  they  heard 
the  faint  boom  of  the  distant  thunder  as  it  travelled 
away  into  space,  and  they  felt  a  fresh  little  breeze 
puff  in  their  faces,  and  the  smell  of  the  turf  rose  and 
mingled  with  the  smell  of  the  sea. 

Down  in  Betty  Higgins'  cottage,  'Zekiel,  in  his  delirium, 


A   SPANISH  MAW  197 

was  cursing  the  black  ship  and  her  ghastly  crew  which 
had  thrown  the  Spanish  girl  upon  their  shore ;  and  Alary, 
listening  to  his  words,  felt  that  he  only  cried  aloud  the 
dumb  cry  of  her  own  heart.  But  the  cries  held  widely 
different  meanings. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

TTj^OR  a  week  or  more  Landecarrock  decided  daily 
-*-  that  Daniel  Laskey  would  never  go  into  his  tidy 
churchyard  again,  except  feet  foremost  on  the  shoulders 
of  his  neighbours ;  but  at  the  end  of  that  time  Daniel 
Laskey  decided  for  himself — and  otherwise — once  more 
baffling  everybody  by  doing  the  thing  which  had  not 
been  expected  of  him.  And  the  little  doctor,  standing 
wide-legged,  with  hands  in  pockets,  smiled  broad 
approval  of  the  decision ;  and  even  Sam'le  at  last 
ventured  his  scared  face,  with  its  anointed  blister  by 
the  nose — trace  of  the  falling  mistletoe's  fiery  kiss — 
round  the  lintel,  to  peer  furtively  at  his  parent. 

Up  at  the  Parsonage,  too,  Agrimony  lay  with  swathed 
arms,  moaning  her  way  back  to  life.  And  it  seemed 
that  the  whole  of  the  village  was  healing  gradually. 
There  were  but  two  exceptions  to  this  pleasant  state 
of  things ;  one  of  these  was  the  barn  itself,  which  stood, 
charred  and  roofless,  gaping  up  at  the  sky,  and   pro- 

198 


A   SPANISH  MA/D  199 

claiming  itself  incurable ;  the  other,  'Zekiel,  who  still 
tossed  on  his  bed  at  the  whim  of  his  fevered 
brain. 

For  a  fire,  this  fire  had  been  somewhat  merciful ; 
and  gradually  the  village  turned  its  face  from  its  scars 
and  drew  breath,  and  looked  about  it,  and  found  that 
it  had  been  making  Landecarrock  history — painfully, 
but  undeniably.  This  was,  indeed,  a  new  topic  to  be 
talked  over  by  the  look-out,  by  the  boat-sheds,  by 
Ann  Vitty's  fuchsia  bush ;  though  the  first  gatherings 
were  but  dismal  affairs  on  account  of  the  gaps  in  the 
assemblage. 

Perhaps  Ann  Vitty  and  Luke  Tregay  felt  this  dismal- 
ness  more  than  most  of  them,  for  Ann  Vitty's  salori 
had  been  held  with  greater  frequency  and  longer 
duration  than  the  others,  and  her  fixed  assembly  had 
been  more  select.  vShe  and  Luke  missed  Daniel 
Laskey  as  no  one  else  missed  him ;  indeed,  his 
absence  seemed  more  striking  than  his  presence  had 
ever  been,  his  vacant  place  against  the  wall  seemed 
to  smite  their  eyes,  and  their  topics  sounded  un- 
finished lacking  his  comprehensive  "  H'm  ! "  as  their 
metaphorical  coping-stone ;  that  empty  silence  at  the 
end  of  their  remarks  was  desolate  in  their  ears. 

"  Old  folks  is  old,  Luke,  an'  there's  no  denyin'  of 
it,"  sighed  Ann  Vitty,  as  she  leaned  over  the  wall,  in 


200  A   SPANISH  MAID 

a  rare  gleam  of  winter  sunshine,  and  flashed  her 
knitting  needles  through  the  baitings  of  her  long  blue 
stocking.  "  Dan'le's  mendin',  they  say,  but  it  do  bring 
it  home  to  anybody  that  the  poor  dear  must  go  'fore 
very  long ;  an'  we'm  bound  to  do  likewise,  in  the  course 
of  natur'." 

Luke,  with  his  eyes  fixed  mournfully  upon  the  droop- 
ing fuchsia  stems,  assented.  "Iss,  'tis  true,  an'  only 
what's  to  be  expected.  We've  a-lived  long  lives,  as  lives 
is  counted  nowadays,  nort  but  a  flea-bite  to  Meethoosla 
an'  such  as  he,  but  full  lives  for  them  as  has  to  'bide  by 
newer  fashions." 

"  Poor  Dan'le !  I  always  considered  he  was  one  as 
thought  a  powerful  lot  of  his  end,  quiet-hke,  to  hisself. 
But,  law  me  !  such  like  ways  often  seems  to  keep  a 
man  livin',  I've  a-noticed." 

"  P'r'aps  you'm  right ;  any  way,  Dan'le  wanted  all  he 
could  get  to  keep  'en  livin'  this  time.  Doctor  said  'twas 
a  mortal  bad  smash-up,  sure  'nuff." 

"  I've  often  thought  on  it  since,"  went  on  Ann  Vitty 
reflectively.  "  'Twas  strange — mortal  strange  !  Some  of 
the  folks  do  say  that  the  fire  springed  right  up  from  the 
foreign  maid,  an'  some  declare  'twas  the  blaze  in  her 
eyes  as  struck  the  first  spark.  Whether  they'm  right  or 
wrong  'twas  a  queer  matter.  Nothin'  like  it  never 
happened  so  afore." 


A   SPANISH  MAID  201 

"  No,  my  dear  soul !  'Tisn'  like  Landecarrock  ways 
to  be  over-trubbled  with  fire-heat  in  the  winter,"  com- 
mented Luke,  with  a  jerk  back  of  his  memory  to  winter 
days  which  had  been  over-trying  to  the  marrow  in 
his  bones. 

"  I  say  agen,  as  I've  a-said  afore,"  declared  Ann  Vitty, 
"  I  don't  much  fancy  the  maid,  an'  if  I  was  Mary 
Ludgven  I'd  sooner  be  without  her.  She's  got  a  pair  of 
heathenish  eyes,  whether  or  no  they'm  able  to  fire  a 
barn;  an'  the  way  she's  a-been  an'  bewitched  poor 
'Zekiel  Myners  is  enuff  to  make  a  body  turn  cold. 
Look  at  the  poor  boy  any  time  since  that  maid  comed 
'pon  Averack  beach,  and  cast  yer  mind  'pon  what  he 
was  afore !  Fire  or  no  fire,  she's  a-got  ways  about  her 
that  isn'  goin'  to  bring  no  good  to  nobody,  an'  I  wishes 
her  well  out  of  the  village." 

Luke  had  nothing  hopeful  to  bring  forward  in  answer 
to  Ann's  tirade. 

"  Seems  to  me,"  he  remarked,  with  mournful  anticipa- 
tion, "  there  isn'  no  fikelihood  of  her  goin'  away ;  she's 
no  manner  o'  maid  to  go  for  service,  an'  Peter  Ludgven 
isn'  the  man  to  turn  any  creetur  to  doors  if  they  was 
wantin'  to  stay." 

"  Bless  'ee,  no  !  Peter  won't  turn  her  away  !  Let  that 
maid  look  'pon  any  man,  be  he  married  or  single,  an' 
he'll  go  straight  an'  do  her  biddin'.     Do  'ee  think  I  can't 


202  .4   SPANISH  MAID 

see  her  tricks?  There's  a  devil  in  her,  that's  what  I 
say,  an'  there's  more  trouble  to  come.  If  so  be  as  we 
lives  long  enuff,  we'll  see  'Zekiel's  jetsam  pay  'en  back 
as  jetsam  alwise  does — trouble  'pon  trouble,  if  'tis  nothin' 
worse." 

"  She  isn'  altogether  what  you'd  call  jetsam,"  ventured 
Luke,  hazarding  a  ray  of  hope  upon  Ann's  dark  future. 
"  'Zekiel  didn'  ezactly  draw  the  maid  out  from  the  sea 
as  you  might  say." 

But  Ann  was  not  to  be  cheered. 

"  If  he'd  a-draw'd  her  straight  down  from  the  stars,  'tis 
my  belief  'twouldn'  ha'  made  no  difference ;  the  maid's 
possessed.  To  my  mind  Landecarrock's  never  bin  the 
same  since  she  comed.  Did  ever  you  mind  a  winter 
same  as  this  winter?  I  can't  never  mind  such  a  one. 
I've  a-known  'em  mild,  an'  I've  a-known  'em  short,  in 
my  time,  but  nothin'  like  this.  Why,  there  hasn'  a-bin 
a  touch  of  cold  in  the  air  since  the  fire  blazed  up  back 
'pon  Christmas  Eve ;  an'  heavy  ! — you  can  a-most  weight 
it  in  yer  hands." 

"  You'm  right,"  responded  Luke,  with  a  slow  shake  of 
his  head.  "  Us  got  brave  an'  hot  that  night,  an'  us  haven' 
had  no  chance  of  coolin'  ourselves  off  since.  'Tis  blow 
'pon  yer  fingers  to  cool  'em,  'stead  of  chafin'  yer 
chillblines,  as  you  haul  down  yer  sails." 

"  Maybe  'tis  savin'  in  the  matter  of  firein',  but  'tisn' 


A  SPANISH  MAW  203 

natural ;  an'  somethin'  '11  come  of  it,  whoever  lives  to 
see  it.'' 

"  Somethin'  '11  come  of  it."  Each  man  and  woman  in 
the  village  felt  the  same  thing,  though  they  might  not  all 
have  Ann  Vitty's  leisure  or  spirit  of  prophecy  to  put  it 
into  words.  It  was  as  if  some  heavy,  intangible  thing 
were  hanging  over  them,  waiting  to  fall  and  crush. 
They  had  known  storm,  and  stress,  and  death,  and  dearth 
in  other  years,  and  time  and  time  again  hunger  had 
come  to  their  doors,  and  had  stalked  inside,  too,  but 
never  before  had  this  gloomy  foreboding  come  and 
wrapped  them  round,  and  pressed  down  upon  them. 

'"Tis  the  weather,"  declared  Peter  Ludgven,  deter- 
mined that  if  his  cheerfulness  was  to  die  as  other 
people's  it  should  die  hard.  "'Tis  the  weather  what's 
makin'  us  so  wisht  an'  down-danted — weather  an'  poor 
catches." 

No  one  felt  equal  to  proving  Peter  wrong ;  and,  certain 
it  was,  that,  instead  of  the  furious  north-easter  which  they 
knew  so  intimately,  lashing  their  cliffs  and  sweeping 
across  the  land,  the  air  was  still  and  heavy ;  a  damp, 
sodden  smell  rose  from  the  earth,  and  fog,  fog,  fog,  lay 
everywhere,  wrapping  the  hills,  hiding  the  cliffs,  lying 
low  upon  the  sea  and  the  land,  hanging  in  beads  upon 
the  bare  trees  and  bushes;  creeping  into  the  cottages, 
into  the  ingle-nooks,  into  the  very  throats  of  the  villagers  ; 


204  ^   SPANISH  MAID 

and  the  sea  lay  out  to  meet  it — a  dull  grey,  heaving 
stretch,  sullen  and  ugly ;  and  man,  and  sea,  and  land 
seemed  gloomily  waiting,  grimly  expectant. 

At  last  something  did  come,  but  that  was  trifling,  and 
nobody  paid  any  heed  to  it.  Something  else  came  soon 
after,  which  caught  and  held  all  their  powers  of  thinking 
and  feeling,  and  doing.  But  this  first  small  thing  came 
so  quietly,  so  unobtrusively ;  not  in  a  tearing  whirlwind, 
or  a  blinding  snowstorm,  or  a  crashing  thunderbolt,  such 
as  every  villager  felt  would  be  a  fitting  form  of  arrival 
into  the  midst  of  their  gloom.  It  came  floating  over  the 
heaving  grey  water,  with  the  languid,  immature  waves 
flop — flopping  against  its  small  wooden  sides,  towards  the 
damp  shingle  of  Averack  beach. 

Nobody  saw  it  as  it  bobbed  its  way  out  of  the  fog  on 
the  sea  towards  the  fog  on  the  land,  for  the  only  human 
being  anywhere  near  was  Master  Humphrey  on  the  cliff 
above,  and  his  face  and  his  thoughts  were  turned  towards 
the  Parsonage.  It  is  true  that  before  long  there  was 
another  human  being  equally  near  to  the  wooden  thing 
bobbing  its  way  from  sea  to  land,  but  her  face  and  her 
thoughts  were  turned  towards  Master  Humphrey. 

"  Ah  ! "  she  sighed  softly  as  she  came  out  of  the  fog 
towards  him. 

"  Teresa,"  he  answered. 

"  Why  do  you  go  up  and  up  ?  "  she  asked  gaily.  "  I  am 


A   SPANISH  MAID  205 

going  down."  She  was  such  a  child  to-day ;  her  lips 
curved  in  such  young  smiles ;  her  eyes  were  so  innocent 
and  dewy,  as  she  pointed  to  the  cliff  path  which  led 
down  to  the  beach. 

"  I  was  on  my  way  to  the  Parsonage,"  he  explained. 

"  It  is  not  good  for  you  to  go  there,"  she  declared. 

"  I  think  it  is,"  he  laughed. 

"Ah,  I  mean — it  is  not  good  o/you"  she  corrected. 

"Ah!"  he  agreed,  "that  is  another  matter." 

"lam  going  down,"  she  said  again,  and  she  still 
pointed  one  small  brown  finger  down  towards  the  beach. 

And  then  she  turned  her  dark  head  and  looked  up  at 
him  sideways ;  and  then  she  raised  the  dark  arches  of 
her  eyebrows  ;  and  then  two  bright  little  specks  came 
and  danced  in  her  wide  eyes ;  and  all  the  while  there 
was  silence. 

And  she  had  never  before  appeared  so  child-like  in 
Master  Humphrey's  sight. 

And  Master  Humphrey  had  a  kindly  heart  for 
children. 

And  then  she  faced  towards  the  path  down  which  her 
finger  pointed,  and  Master  Humphrey  followed  her  down 
the  zigzag  to  the  beach. 

And  the  wooden  thing  heaved  on  the  dull  sea, 
nearer  and  nearer,  with  the  impotent  ripples  striking 
it  weakly  as  it  passed  by,  as  if  they  found  themselves 


2o6  A   SPANISH  MAID 

too  feeble  to  prove  the  strength  of  their  objection, 
till  at  length  they  hurried  it  on  to  the  swell  of  a  list- 
less breaker,  and  the  listless  breaker,  faint  with  anxiety 
to  be  rid  of  such  a  burden,  slid  it  down  to  a  dispirited 
neighbour,  which,  in  its  turn,  tossed  it  languidly  upon 
the  shingle,  and  slowly  sank  back  after  the  exertion 
into  the  arms  of  its  fellows,  leaving  the  burden  stranded 
on  Averack  beach. 

Teresa  saw  it  first. 

"  Look  ! "  she  cried.  "  Quick,  look  !  What  has  come 
to  us  ?  " 

"Another  Spanish  maid,  perchance,"  laughed  Master 
Humphrey,  as  he  ran  with  her  to  the  water's  edge. 

"But  tell  me,"  she  demanded,  kneeling  and  passing 
her  quick  brown  fingers  over  the  wet  wood,  "  why  does 
it  come  so  ?  " 

Master  Humphrey  smiled  and  shook  his  head. 
"  Landecarrock  sees  many  such  treasures  from  the 
sea  drift  to  her  beaches,"  he  answered,  as  he  lifted 
one  end  and  dragged  it  higher  up  the  shingle,  "but 
they  seldom  tell  us  why  they  come." 

"Open  it  quick,  quick!"  she  commanded,  beating 
her  hands  together  in  her  impatience.  "  I  must  see  the 
treasures ! " 

"No "  began  Master  Humphrey,  as   he  kneeled 

and  examined  the  thing. 


A  SPANISH  MAID  207 

"  No ?  "  she  repeated  angrily. 

"  It  would  be " 

"  Open  it ! "  she  commanded,  and  then  they  stood 
upright  and  faced  one  another — and,  in  a  minute  or 
so,  a  fair-sized  pebble  seemed  sufficient  for  the 
work. 

This  treasure  from  the  sea  was  an  oblong  little  chest 
of  black  wood,  fastened  almost  invisibly  at  every  join ; 
but,  on  its  voyage,  it  had  struck  a  rock,  it  seemed,  for 
on  one  side  there  was  a  large  dent  in  the  wood,  and 
at  this  spot  Master  Humphrey  found  the  fair-sized 
pebble  sufficient  to  finish  the  work  of  staving- 
in. 

"  Good ! "  cried  Teresa,  as  in  her  eagerness  she  fell 
upon  her  knees  and  pushed  in  front  of  Master 
Humphrey.  Then  she  thrust  her  hand  into  the  hole 
to  clutch  at  the  treasure. 

Whatever  she  had  expected  to  find — coins,  or  jewels, 
or  ornaments  of  gold  and  gems — what  she  touched 
surprised  her.  It  was  something  soft  and  yielding, 
and,  closing  her  fingers  upon  it,  she  drew  her  hand 
quickly  back  again,  and  looked  upon  a  crumpled  end 
of  yellow  silk  which  she  was  holding — vivid  yellow, 
soft  and  shining. 

Master  Humphrey  rose  to  his  feet. 

"  Better  push   it    back  and   leave   it  for   Peter,"  he 


2oS  A   SPANISH  MAID 

said,  as  one  advising  a  child  in  the  matter  of  sharp- 
edged  tools. 

"  Leave  it ! "  she  cried,  "  for  Peter  !  It  did  not  come 
to  Peter  !     I — I,  myself,  first  touched  it !  " 

"You  were  taking  away  Peter's  work,"  he  assured 
her. 

"But  it  is  not  work  I  want  to  take  away,"  she 
said  scornfully,  "  it  is  the  treasure.  It  is  mine ! 
It  came  to  me.  I  saw  it  first.  Look !  Lovely ! 
Gold ! " 

With  all  her  smiles  come  back  again,  she  pulled  at 
the  end  she  held,  and  drew  out  from  the  chest  yard 
upon  yard  of  the  soft,  shining  stuff. 

"Ah!"  she  sighed,  as  she  came  at  length  to  an  end, 
and  buried  her  hands  in  the  silken  mass. 

"  You  must  put  it  back,"  declared  Master  Humphrey. 

"  No,"  decided  Teresa. 

"  Yes,"  said  Master  Humphrey. 

"  No,"  repeated  Teresa. 

And  then  she  lifted  the  yellow  folds,  and  twined  them 
about  her  dark  hair  and  her  shoulders,  and  smiled  out 
at  him  from  her  vivid  hood. 

"  There  is  much  more  in  the  box,"  she  said  quietly, 
as  she  rubbed  her  cheek  against  the  golden  soft- 
ness. 

Higher  up,    through   the   fog,    came    the    trill   of  a 


A   SPANISH  MAID  209 

whistle.     It  was  Peter's  whistle ;  and,  as  they  heard  it, 
they  looked  at  one  another. 

"  Put  it  back,"  said  Master  Humphrey  again. 

''  No,"  said  Teresa. 

With  a  new  line — a  stern  one — showing  between  his 
eyebrows  he  stepped  towards  her,  and  put  his  hand 
upon  the  silk  about  her  shoulders.  And  now  they 
could  hear  Peter's  footsteps  coming  down  the  path  to 
the  beach.  With  a  jerk  of  her  shoulder  Teresa 
threw  off  Master  Humphrey's  hand  and  sprang  away 
from  him. 

"  Listen ! "  she  said,  and  she  raised  her  finger  to 
command  silence,  while  Peter's  whistle  came  trilling 
again  through  the  fog.  Master  Humphrey  looked  at 
her  but  said  nothing. 

"  Listen  again  !  "  she  commanded.  "  To  me.  This  is 
beautiful,  and  I  will  have  it.  Peter  is  coming ;  he 
need  have  neither  work  nor  treasure,"  and  moving 
quickly  to  the  little  chest  she  lifted  it  in  her  arms, 
and,  running  to  the  water's  edge,  flung  it  as  far  as  her 
strength  allowed,  out  into  the  sea ;  and  a  single  splash 
came  back  to  them  through  the  fog. 

Then  she  turned  and  faced  him,  smiling  defiantly, 
with  all  her  pilfered  glory  wound  about  her.  But  the 
defiance  went  out  from  her  face  as  she  looked.  Child- 
moods  are  short-lived  and  very  winning. 

O 


210  A   SPANISH  MAID 

"  Come !  "  she  whispered  coaxingly,  holding  her  hand 
to  him.     "  Come  !  " 

And  he  turned  and  went  with  her. 

When  Peter,  with  the  fog-beads  standing  out  on  his 
rough  coat  and  his  curly  hair,  came  looming  through 
the  smoky  denseness  to  the  water's  edge,  the  beach, 
as  far  as  his  eye  could  penetrate,  was  empty  and  silent ; 
and  the  line  of  dull,  grey  sea  heaved  slowly  with  the 
ebbing  tide,  and  told  no  tales. 

But  stealing  away  towards  the  village,  in  the  golden 
folds  about  Teresa's  dark  hair  and  slender  shoulders, 
something  had  come  to  Landecarrock  at  last. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

"  ^ALLA  silk  !  " 

-^  Landecarrock  folk  gazed  and  gasped,  then 
blinked,  and  gasped,  and  gazed  again,  and  three  quick 
breaths  went  to  the  exclamation  as  the  Spaniard  danced 
past  them  in  the  fog.  Then  a  score  of  questions  blurted 
themselves  out,  for  Landecarrock  folk  had  been  some- 
what overpowered  with  incident  lately,  and  were  suffering 
from  a  surfeit  of  amazement;  but  all  the  while  they 
knew  that  their  questions  could  not  be  answered,  for, 
when  all  are  enquiring,  who  would  exalt  himself  and 
turn  instructor  to  his  equals  ? 

But  at  length,  with  one  long  breath  a  word  was  ventured 
— the  word  which  had  been  chafing  in  their  skulls  so  long. 

'"Tis  witchcraft,"  declared  Ann  Vitty,  and  Lande- 
carrock turned  to  her  in  fearful  gratitude.  She  had 
put  their  dread  into  sounding  syllables ;  and,  ghastly 
though  it  might  be  in  their  ears,  a  common  danger  was 
better  to  bear  than  an  individual  terror. 

"Mother!"  exclaimed   Betty  Higgins,  squeezing  her 

211 


212  A   SPANISH  MAID 

youngest  baby,  Charity,  in  her  nervousness,  till  that 
infant  squealed  protests.     "  How  can  'ee  say  it  ?  " 

"  'Tis  witchcraft ! "  repeated  Ann  Vitty,  bolder  now 
that  the  word  had  once  sounded  in  her  own  ears ;  "  an' 
I've  alwise  misdoubted  as  'twas  so." 

"  Yalla  silk  !  "  they  breathed,  and  they  all  turned  their 
heads  one  way  to  peer  into  the  fog. 

A  wild  mood  had  come  to  Teresa,  as  if  with  the 
touch  of  her  new  mantle,  and  her  yellow  figure  danced 
on  now,  past  the  villagers,  as  if  the  heart  inside  it  were 
too  light  for  sober  ways. 

A  group  of  listless  children  were  moping  round  about 
a  grindstone  at  the  top  of  the  village,  and  as  the 
Spaniard  reached  them,  she  caught  them  one  by  one 
and  swung  them  round,  rippling  out  pretty  laughter  as 
she  saw  their  wondering  faces ;  then  she  chased  them 
gaily,  and  merrily  flicked  them  with  the  shining  silk, 
then  spun  them  in  its  soft  folds,  and  released  them 
again  all  giddy  and  breathless. 

And  in  a  while  the  mad  mood  infected  the  children, 
too,  and  they  loosed  their  down-drawn  lips  and  laughed 
out  shrilly,  and  joined  in  this  fun  which  had  fronted 
them  so  suddenly.  And  the  elders,  hearing  the  laugh- 
ing clamour,  followed  their  own  eyes  into  the  fog,  and 
then  stopped,  startled,  and  widened  their  lids,  and 
looked  upon  the  wild  doings. 


A    SPANISH  MAID  213 

The  Stranger-maid  who  had  always  shunned  them 
haughtily,  and  passed  them  by  with  never  a  word  or 
a  smile,  was  now  frolicking  as  a  child  amongst  their 
children,  darting  to  and  fro  in  the  midst,  chasing,  catch- 
ing, whirling  their  plump,  sturdy-legged  sons  and  daughters 
as  if  they  were  so  many  butterflies,  dancing  with  them, 
swooping  upon  them,  entangling  them  in  the  long  folds 
of  her  gold-coloured  drapery.  And  the  children,  wild 
with  the  excitement,  drunk  with  the  joy  of  it,  skipped, 
and  ran,  and  darted,  too,  shouting,  laughing,  clamour- 
ing, as  if  tasting  pleasure  for  the  first  time,  and  mad 
with  the  excess  of  it. 

And  the  elders  stood  where  they  had  first  halted, 
gaping  and  awed,  and  looked  upon  their  little  Lande- 
carrock  boys  and  maids  as  if  relationship  had  been 
wiped  out,  and  they  were  looking  upon  strangers.  And 
the  minutes  passed,  and  still  they  stared  on,  fascinated, 
with  no  power  to  claim  or  to  command  these  pranking 
little  figures. 

And  then,  quickly  as  she  had  come  upon  them  out 
of  the  mist,  the  Spaniard  whirled  her  yellow  draperies 
and  danced  away  into  it  again,  leaving  them  frisking 
alone.  Four  or  five  of  them  danced  after  her,  thinking 
this  but  a  new  phase  of  the  delightful  frolic,  but  she  was 
quicker  than  they,  and  soon  out-distanced  them,  never 
once  turning  her  face  back  to  them  as  she  sped  into 


214  ^   SPANISH  MAID 

the  denseness.  Then  all  the  frisking  ceased,  and  a 
sudden  wondering  silence  fell  upon  them,  and  they 
grouped  themselves  again  about  the  grindstone,  looking 
cheated  and  chapfallen,  and  then  they  turned  their 
heated  little  faces  to  their  elders,  and  looked  silly  also. 

For  many  hours  after  this,  a  spirit  of  unrest  lay  upon 
the  young  of  Landecarrock.  They  had  tasted  the  sweets 
of  a  strange,  incredible  pleasure  which  had  been  snatched 
from  them  again,  leaving  them  mortified  and  unsatisfied ; 
and  now  they  grew  peevish  and  fractious,  and  found 
their  old  life  tasteless,  and  colourless,  and  dull.  Not 
until  the  next  day  did  they  recover  some  of  their  interest 
in  affairs  and  bury  their  longings  and  their  mortification 
in  forgetfulness.  Then,  as  they  dawdled  apathetically 
on  Averack  beach  they  chanced  upon  a  little  wooden 
chest  with  one  side  staved  in,  which  had  been  washed 
up  by  the  tide.  The  sight  roused  them,  and  having 
rounded  their  eyes  and  wondered  a  while,  they  turned 
it  over  and  drew  out  from  it  countless  sodden  folds  of 
some  soft  material,  all  dripping  and  stained.  And  when 
they  had  emptied  the  chest,  and  thrown  the  wet  stuff 
aside,  it  seemed  worth  while  to  kick  the  little  wooden 
thing  from  where  it  lay,  and  with  the  first  kick  their 
spirits  rose,  and  they  kicked  it  again,  and  further.  The 
sport  was  good,  exciting,  and  they  grew  quick  and  glee- 
ful, and  backwards  and  forwards  they  kicked  the  little 


A   SPANISH  MAID  215 

chest,  from  boy  to  girl,  from  girl  to  boy ;  and  their 
peevishness  and  their  apathy  fell  away  from  them,  and 
their  laughter  could  be  heard  again  rising  up  into  the 
fog,  until,  in  time,  this  game,  too,  seemed  stale,  and  the 
labour  profitless.  Then  they  turned  again  to  the  sodden 
stuff  lying  upon  the  beach,  and  squeezing  the  wet  grey- 
green  folds  in  their  tanned  little  fists,  made  reins  of  it  for 
themselves,  and  played  at  horses  on  the  shingle. 

It  was  soon  after  this  that  the  second  "something" 
came  to  Landecarrock.  And  even  this  "something," 
though  bearing  such  power  with  it,  came  without 
noise,  or  blare,  or  crash  to  herald  it,  borne  gaily 
up  the  village  street  in  the  arms  of  the  only  creature 
who  could  be  gay  in  the  face  of  the  heavy,  dank 
gloom  which  oppressed  the  land. 

The  day  was  close,  and  grey,  and  misty,  as  all  the  other 
days  had  been  since  Christmas  Eve ;  dampness  rose  from 
the  earth  and  dropped  from  the  sky,  as  Teresa  came 
laughing  up  the  hill  from  the  boat-sheds  with  little 
Charity  Higgins  in  her  arms.  Charity's  face  was  pale 
and  her  eyes  were  heavy  as  she  lay  against  Teresa's 
shoulder,  but  Teresa's  cheeks  were  glowing,  her  eyes 
were  bright  and  dancing,  and  her  lips  were  parted 
in  child-smiles.  And  wound  round  about  herself  and 
the  baby  was  the  yellow  silk,  binding  them  together. 

.  As  the  girl  came  on  her  way,   tossing   and  rocking 


2i6  A   SPANISH  MAID 

the  child  in  her  arms,  mothers  looked  from  their 
doorways  anxiously  and  scanned  the  pair,  and  they 
knitted  their  brows  and  straightened  their  lips.  They 
hated  the  foreigner  to  fondle  their  children ;  they  hated 
her  to  touch  or  look  at  them ;  in  their  hearts  they 
knew  her  to  be  a  "  witch,"  and  they  shuddered  as  their 
eyes  fell  upon  her.  On  this  day,  as  each  mother, 
looking  from  her  doorway,  saw  that  the  child  in  the 
foreigner's  arms  was  none  of  hers,  she  shrank  back 
into  her  kitchen  that  she  might  not  hold  mouth- 
speech  with  the  girl.  And  Teresa  came  gaily  on, 
laughing  and  chattering  her  "  heathenish  words  "  to  the 
child,  till  she  reached  the  open  doorway  of  Betty 
Higgins's  cottage. 

Betty  was  in  her  kitchen,  and  her  heart  gave  a 
scared,  great  thump,  and  her  lips  trembled  as  she  saw 
her  baby  in  the  foreigner's  arms. 

"Charry,  my  precious!"  she  cried,  hurrying  forward 
to  claim  her  own.  "Come  'long  to  mammy."  And 
the  baby,  seeing  her,  struggled  to  free  herself  and 
stretch  her  arms  to  her  mother. 

"  Lord  sakes ! "  cried  Betty.  "  What's  the  matter 
wi'  her  arm?" 

She  stopped  in  the  act  of  taking  the  child  and 
quickly  pulled  up  the  little  flannel  sleeve  to  the 
shoulder.     A  cluster  of  bright,  red  spots  burned  angrily 


A   SPANISH  MAID  217 

upon  the  baby  flesh,  and  Betty's  eyes  full  of  horror, 
and  Teresa's  still  smiling,  were  riveted  upon  them. 

"  Lord  A'mighty  !  "  exclaimed  Betty,  "  what  is  it  all  ? 
What  'vee  been  doin'  to  her  ?  " 

But  Teresa  only  smiled  on  placidly. 

"Stop  yer  grinnin'!"  commanded  Betty,  "an'  tell  me 
what  'tis  ?  " 

For  answer  Teresa  drew  her  finger  lightly  in  a  circle 
round  the  bright  spots,  and  murmured  in  a  cooing 
voice  :  "  Ah,  pretty  !  " 

"  Pretty ! "  repeated  Betty  indignantly,  snatching 
Charity  from  the  girl.  "  Little  you'd  care  if  they  was 
plague-spots.  Come,  my  blessed,  tell  mother  what  the 
wicked  maid  done  to  'ee  ! " 

But  Charity  only  turned  her  face  to  her  mother's 
heart,  and  moaned  a  little  moan,  half-peevish,  half- 
comforted. 

Ann  Vitty's  words,  '"Tis  witchcraft,"  seemed  to  echo 
again,  and  the  blood  shuddered  out  of  Betty's  comely 
cheeks.  She  turned  in  quickly  and  shut  her  door, 
leaving  the  foreigner  to  smile  on,  if  she  pleased,  upon 
the  weather-worn  wood  of  it,  while  she  laid  her  baby 
in  its  cradle,  and  knew,  and  never  doubted,  that  the 
cluster  of  bright  spots  meant  death. 

By  evening-time  of  that  same  day  a  dozen  or  more 
of    Landecarrock     boys    and     maids     left    their    play, 


2i8  A   SPANISH  MAID 

which  had  grown  dull  and  tedious  to  them,  and 
volunteered  for  bed  a  full  hour  before  time,  instead 
of  cavilling  about  odd  minutes,  and  haggling  over  the 
shadows  and  the  tide-line,  as  was  common  with  them ; 
these  being  the  clocks  which  they  and  their  elders 
never  read  alike. 

And  before  long  the  little  doctor  was  riding  his 
good  brown  mare  across  the  backbone  of  the  downs 
again,  peering  at  his  way  through  the  mist  by  the 
help  of  his  big  horn  lantern.  And  when  he  reached 
the  village  his  cheery  face  turned  grave^  for  as  he 
went  from  bed  to  bed  he  knew  the  place  to  be  stricken. 

Landecarrock  folk  did  not  say  many  words  when 
they  learned  that  Death  was  stalking  their  village ; 
they  seemed  to  have  been  waiting  so  long  for  him,  or 
some  such  visitant,  that  their  sorrowful  words  had 
mostly  been  said.  They  had  cried  out  when  the  fire 
had  burst  upon  them  in  the  barn,  and  conversation 
had  not  been  slack  on  the  subject  afterwards,  but 
when  this  new  foe  faced  them  they  pressed  their  lips 
noiselessly,  and  did  the  next  thing,  hour  after  hour, 
with  little  comment,  and  only  a  grim  look  of  waiting 
in  their  eyes.  They  had  been  better  schooled  for 
endurance  than  for  sudden  shocks. 

Soon  after  the  coming  of  the  doctor,  Peter  Ludgven 
went  to  Betty  Higgins'  cottage  and  carried  'Zekiel  back 


A   SPANISH  MAID  219 

with  him  to  his  own  home  on  the  hill.  If  'Zekiel 
had  to  die  it  was  thought  better  for  him  to  die  of 
his  fever  and  weakness  than  of  the  loathsome  sickness 
which  lay  upon  Charity  Higgins  and  the  others,  if 
such  could  be  shut  away  from  him.  So  Mary  turned 
her  face  to  'Zekiel  and  to  Zel,  giving  her  time  and 
her  strength  to  the  healing  of  the  one  and  the  pro- 
tecting of  the  other.  But  Peter  went  outside  again, 
for  his  work  lay  also  in  the  world  and  amongst  his 
fellows;  and  since  it  must  be  so,  and  he  must  go 
where  there  was  danger,  it  seemed  best  to  him  that  he 
should  keep  himself  from  those  he  cared  for  most ; 
and  his  own  home  began  to  see  but  little  of  him  after 
he  had  laid  'Zekiel  upon  the  bed.  Mary  knew  that 
he  was  wise  in  this  matter;  that  it  was  all  sensible 
and  right;  but  she  could  not  thank  him  for  the 
wisdom,  and  the  sense,  and  the  rightness  while  her  heart 
was  so  empty  and  desolate.  And  all  the  while  Teresa, 
as  some  gorgeous  insect  that  seems  to  find  its  pleasure 
in  skimming  over  foul  and  stagnant  pools,  went  to 
and  fro,  light-footed  and  light-hearted,  up  and  down 
the  hushed  village,  in  and  out  of  the  houses  of 
mourning,  uninvited  and  unwelcomed,  seeming  to  find 
her  pleasure  in  the  sights  she  saw  and  the  sounds 
she  heard.  And  Mary,  facing  the  danger  of  the  girl's 
wild   goings   and   comings,    held    Zel    apart   from    her, 


220  A  SPANISH  MAID 

and  told  her  sternly  of  the  risks  she  ran ;  but  her 
words  seemed  mostly  unmeaning  to  Teresa,  and  the 
girl,  whether  understanding  or  ignorant,  laughed  in  her 
face,  and  went  her  own  way. 

And  the  sickness  crept  on  swiftly  and  remorselessly ; 
and  above  the  hush  which  lay  upon  the  village,  soon 
there  could  be  heard  the  tap-tap  of  carpenter  Upjohn's 
hammer  at  work  upon  the  coffins ;  and  Daniel  Laskey, 
creeping  out  into  the  gloomy  world  again  for  the  first 
time,  with  his  newly-mended  ribs  behind  his  waistcoat, 
turned  his  steps  toward  his  churchyard,  which  was  now 
being  so  ruthlessly  upturned  by  other  hands,  that  the 
eyes  at  least  of  the  master  might  be  there  to  super- 
intend the  melancholy  disarrangement  of  his  treasured 
turf. 

"  The  plague,"  the  villagers  called  the  swift  vampire 
which  hurried  into  their  homes,  and,  seizing  on  their 
treasures,  left  them  so  near  to  human  bankruptcy. 
"  The  plague "  it  was  to  them  before  ever  the  doctor 
had  diagnosed  it,  and  as  he  saw  them  sicken  and 
droop  before  his  eyes  he  did  not  trouble  them  with 
corrections,  for  he  felt  that  no  other  word  would  fit 
it  better. 

"  What's  the  meaning  of  all  this,  Ludgven  ?  " 

Peter,  talking  with  Daniel  Laskey  as  he  sat  at  the 
door   of  the   cottage  by  his   boat-sheds,   turned  as  he 


J   SPANISH  MAID  221 

heard  the  words,  and  saw  the  doctor  himself  standing 
there  with  Master  Humphrey  at  his  side.  Peter 
touched  his  cap. 

"  Do  'ee  mean  the  plague,  sir  ?  "  he  asked. 

"Ay,  ay,  the  plague.  What's  the  meaning  of  it? 
How  did  it  come  ?  "  questioned  the  doctor. 

"That's  what  we'm  all  askin',  sir,"  replied  Peter, 
with  a  shake  of  his  head.  "Every  man,  woman,  or 
child  as  we  sees  a-droopin',  we  ask,  '  What's  the 
meanin'  of  it  ?  How  did  'ee  come  by  it  ? '  But,  poor 
souls !  they  only  twists  in  their  mortal  pains,  an'  then 
stiffens  before  our  very  eyes  while  we'm  a-waitin'  for 
the  word." 

"  Strange  ! "  mused  the  little  man  aloud.  "  I  find  no 
good  enough  cause  for  it.  Landecarrock  is  clean  as 
fishing  villages  are  like  to  be— clean  as  it  has  been 
any  time  these  centuries  past,  for  sure.  Any  likely 
vessels  been  here  at  anchor?  Any  sailors  ashore? 
Any  cargoes  landed  ?  " 

"Nothin'  an'  nobody,"  declared  Peter.  "  Lande- 
carrock's  bin  like  a  place  forsook  since  Christmas-time. 
Like  as  if  God  A'mighty  had  a-cut  us  off  from  our 
fellow-creeturs." 

And  then  there  flashed  a  sudden,  ghastly  thought 
through  Master  Humphrey's  brain,  as  he  stood  by 
listening.       His    face    had    been    growing    white    and 


222  A   SPANISH  MAID 

haggard  during  the  past  gruesome  days,  but  now  the 
blood  rushed  to  it  and  burned  there,  and  buzzed  in 
his  ears,  and  made  him  dizzy. 

"  Doctor,"  he  interrupted,  trying  to  steady  his  voice, 
which  sounded  weak  and  far  away  to  his  own  ears, 
"Could — could  flotsam,  or  jetsam  bring  about  such 
a  pestilence  as  this  ? " 

"  Powers  of  hell,  squire ! "  shouted  the  little  man, 
"they'd  manage  it  well,  in  truth!  Yellow-jack,  leprosy, 
plagues  of  every  breed,  bottled  up  with  sack  or  rum, 
boxed  in  with  fruits,  tied  up  with  grain,  hiding  in 
bales  of  cotton  or  chests  of  silk." 

"Nothin's  come  our  way,  sir,  since  back  afore 
Christmas-time,"  protested  Peter. 

"Yes,  something  did  come."  Master  Humphrey 
seemed  to  drop  the  words  from  his  mouth  slowly 
and  separately,  as  a  man  speaking  a  new  language. 
"  A  little  chest  of  yellow  silk  —  washed  in  upon 
Averack  beach.  I  know  it,  for  I  saw  it,  and  I  opened 
it." 

For  a  minute  they  looked  at  him  in  silence;  the 
doctor  keen  and  curious,  Peter  amazed  and  expectant, 
and  Sam'le,  who  had  joined  the  group,  slouching  near 
to  his  father  and  staring  up  into  each  face  in  turn  in 
loose-lipped  fear. 

"  H'm ! "  ventured  Daniel,  breaking  the  silence. 


A   SPANISH  MAID  223 

Then  in  answer  to  the  questions  in  their  eyes  Master 
Humphrey  told  his  tale. 

"  Burn  it ! "  cried  the  doctor,  when  he  had  listened 
impatiently  to  the  end.  "Burn  it,  and  that  quickly, 
too  !     But   the  maid — where  is  she  ?     I  can't  call  her 

to  mind." 

"She  is  well,"  declared  Master  Humphrey.  "She 
has  not  sickened." 

"  She  has  not  sickened  ! "  echoed  the  doctor.  "  That 
seems  to  exonerate  your  little  chest  of  silk.  But," 
he  added,  more  to  himself  than  to  them,  "there's  no 
knowing,  those  dark-bloods  seem  impervious  at  times. 
Can  I  see  this  maid  and  her  silk?"  he  asked,  turning 
to  Master  Humphrey. 

"Yes,"  said  Master  Humphrey.  "Come  with  me; 
I  will  find  her  for  you." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

'  ^7  EKIEL  was  himself  again,  that  is  to  say,  he  had 
^— '  given  over  raving  of  "  black  ships  "  and  "  cursed 
crews,"  and  lay  upon  his  bed  sensible.  For  hours  his 
wide  eyes,  which  seemed  as  if  they  would  never  close 
again,  had  turned  from  Mary's  face  to  the  little  casement, 
with  hopeless,  hungry  glances ;  she  had  seen  restless 
recognition  in  them,  too.  Then  the  parson  came,  and, 
standing  by  the  bed,  took  'Zekiel's  hand  and  smiled 
upon  him,  and  then  'Zekiel  spoke,  and  his  voice  was 
strong,  with  a  curious,  hollow  strength.  It  seemed  as  if 
nothing  would  weaken  him,  as  if  his  passion  for  the 
Spanish  girl  flamed  in  him,  with  the  fire  of  a  fierce, 
artificial  vitality  which  would  not  let  him  sink  or 
die. 

"Why  didn'  'ee  let  me  go?"  he  asked,  looking  up 
into  the  parson's  face,  with  quick  suffering  and  reproach 
in  his  own  eyes. 

224 


A    SPANISH  MAID  225 

"  Let  you  go,  Ezekiel ! "  repeated  the  parson. 
"Whither  should  I  let  you  go?" 

"Hell!  Hell!  It  must  be  hell!  God  A'mighty 
wouldn'  bear  with  me  in  Heaven.  I  couldn'  worship 
'En.  I  couldn'  take  no  'count  of  'En,  with  my  heart, 
an'  my  soul,  an'  my  body  all  a-worshippin'  an'  a-longin' 
for  her." 

"  We  cannot  spare  you  for  hell,  Ezekiel ;  think  of  it, 
lad !  We  cannot  willingly  let  you  go  to  suffer  the 
tortures  of  the  damned  ! " 

"  I  suffer  'em  now,"  he  cried  despairingly.  "  'Tis  hell 
for  me  to  live  !  'Twas  hell  all  the  time  I  was  seein'  her. 
'Twas  hell  when  we  was  apart ;  from  day  to  day,  an' 
hour  to  hour,  an'  word  to  word.  'Twas  hell !  hell !  hell ! 
an'  I  can't  rise  up  an'  stir  about  in  it  again.  I  can't 
face  it.     I  can't — Teresa  !  Teresa  ! " 

He  pressed  his  thin  fingers  hard  into  his  eyes,  and  his 
body  shook  with  the  power  of  his  pain.  Mary,  standing 
silent  at  the  foot  of  his  bed,  bore  each  word's  separate 
wring  of  torture,  and  she  did  not  move  or  try  to  comfort 
him.  She  did  not  tighten  her  lips  or  close  her  teeth,  as 
instinct  teaches  men  and  women  to  do  to  ease  their 
pain ;  she  only  gripped  her  hands  together  and  pressed 
them  tighdy  over  her  heart — an  impotent  tourniquet  to 
stop  its  bleeding  or  deaden  its  pain. 

"  Ezekiel,"  said  the  old  man  gently,  "  you  are  young 


226  A   SPANISH  MAID 

— young  enough  to  be  only  brave.  I  pray  you  not 
to  turn  coward  and  crouch  from  the  first  blow  that 
hurts." 

The  tension  of  the  boy's  fingers  slackened  again,  and 
his  body  lay  quite  still.  The  old  man  went  on  in  a  low, 
soothing  voice,  full  of  sincerity  and  a  fine  pity. 

"  God,  a  man  has  told  us,  has  stretched  a  crumb  of 
dust  from  Heaven  to  hell,  and  then,  with  a  wonderful 
tenderness  and  mercy,  has  reached  out  His  arms  to  meet 
it,  if  it  will  but  float  back  towards  Him,  if  ever  so  feebly. 
That  crumb  is  man.  Will  you  be  too  poor,  too  weak  a 
man  to  raise  even  a  finger,  even  a  glance ?  " 

"  I  ain't  a  man.  I  ain't  nothin'  but  a — a — lump  of 
pain,"  declared  'Zekiel. 

The  parson  sighed  a  little.  "  We  will  wait  for  you — 
wait  for  you  to  take  shape  from  out  your  lump  of  pain. 
It  is  possible  that  it  may  be  quite  splendid — that  shape 
for  which  we  wait.  Ah  ! "  he  went  on  musingly,  as  if 
forgetful  of  his  listeners,  his  tall,  spare  figure  swaying 
slowly,  his  thin  fingers  interlaced,  "  in  one's  youth — 
how  well  I  know  it ! — pain  is  so  keen,  so  poignant. 
The  thing  on  which  a  man  sets  his  heart  is  craved  for 
so  passionately,  and  then,  when  it  is  denied,  he  cries  out 
bitterly,  angrily,  and  he  turns  and  curses,  and  draws  his 
eyes  inward  to  his  own  black,  hopeless  heart,  and  says 
that  the  world   is  black  and  loathsome,  dark  as   night. 


A   SPANISH  MAID  227 

hateful  as  hell ;  and  he  wraps  himself  round  tightly  in 
selfishness.  But  by-and-bye,  if  he  has  a  germ  of  real 
manhood — humanity — latent  in  him,  that  wrapping  of 
selfishness,  that  chrysalis  of  cowardice,  is  broken  through 
gradually,  and  the  man,  looking  out,  finds  that  the  world 
is  not  quite  dark  after  all.  There  is  a  twilight  in  which 
he  can  dimly  perceive  several  desirable  things  still 
lying  round  about  in  it ;  and  then,  even  as  he  looks,  the 
twilight  lightens  and  the  things  stand  out  yet  more 
plainly  and  seem  yet  more  desirable ;  and  as  time  passes 
on  he  learns  that  the  world  is,  after  all,  a  fair  spot  still, 
and  the  light,  becoming  more  radiant  and  more  glorious, 
leads  that  man  on  to  perfect  day.  Ah  !  you  are  young, 
Ezekiel,  you  are  young " 

The  parson's  voice  was  pitiful  and  soothing,  and  for 
a  while  it  seemed  as  if  his  words  had  been  lulling  the 
excited  boy  upon  the  bed,  but  with  a  quick,  bitter  cry 
'Zekiel  silenced  him. 

"Young!  Young!  Why  shouldn'  I  be  young?  I 
don't  want  to  be  old !  I  want — I  want — O  my  God  ! 
— I  want  rest  1 "  and,  throwing  out  his  wasted  arms,  he 
turned  his  back  upon  light  and  the  living,  and  buried 
his  face  in  his  pillow,  and  knew  despair. 

A  sharp  rapping  at  the  cottage  door  broke  the  silence 
which  followed,  and  Mary  turned,  dry-eyed,  and  went 
slowly  down  the  stairs. 


228  A    SPANISH   MAID 

In  a  curiously  dull,  unemotional  way  she  noted  little 
details  of  the  room  before  her  as  she  stood  at  the  foot — 
the  size  of  it,  the  colour  of  its  walls,  a  drooping  fuchsia- 
bloom  in  the  window,  the  hot  flush  on  Zel's  cheek  as  he 
lay  asleep  in  his  cradle,  the  loose  folds  of  yellow  silk 
about  Teresa's  shoulders  as  she  bent  over  him.  Then 
the  latch  clicked  and  the  door  opened,  and  Master 
Humphrey  stood  on  the  threshold,  with  the  doctor  at 
his  shoulder. 

"  Forgive  us  for  troubling  you,  Mary,"  said  Master 
Humphrey,  coming  forward,  "  but  doctor  has  a  wish 
to  see  Teresa,  and  the  bit  of  silk  she's  wearing." 

Mary  moved  her  head  in  answer,  and  Teresa,  hearing 
her  name  spoken^  rose  smiUng  from  the  cradle-side, 
and  looked  upon  the  visitors. 

"  Teresa,"  said  Master  Humphrey,  turning  to  her  and 
speaking  in  her  own  tongue,  "doctor  distrusts  your 
pretty  silk,  thinking  it  holds  the  plague  which  is  killing 
our  people  every  hour.  We  want  you  to  let  us  burn 
it " 

Teresa's  eyes  hardened  as  she  heard  him,  and  she 
tightened  the  silk  about  her  shoulders,  but  her  lips 
were  smiling  still. 

"I  think,  Mrs  Ludgven,"  said  the  doctor,  turning 
in  angry  impatience  to  Mary,  "  that  this  cursed  plague, 
as   you   call  it,    which   is   turning   your   village   into   a 


A   SPANISH  MAID  22$ 

charnel-house,  is  lying  thick,  like  enough,  in  this  maid's 
bit  of  finery " 

"  A — h  ! "  His  angry  words  had  stirred  Mary  at 
last.  The  dull  despair  in  her  eyes  kindled  to  quick 
mother-fear,  and,  springing  forward,  she  pushed  Teresa 
roughly  back  from  the  cradle-side.  "Take  it  off!"  she 
cried.  "  Take  it  off  this  instant  minute  ! "  And  she 
snatched  at  the  silk  to  tear  it  away  with  her  own 
hands. 

But  Teresa  stepped  back  and  smiled  insolently  into 
her  face,  as  she  gripped  the  soft  stuff  about  her  in 
her  two  small  fists. 

"  Come,  Teresa,"  said  Master  Humphrey  with  some 
sternness ;  and  the  doctor  stepped  forward  also.  But 
Teresa  only  looked  from  one  to  the  other  and  laughed 
a  laugh  which  mocked  and  defied  them ;  and  it  seemed 
sufficient  to  stay  their  hands. 

"  Doctor,  doctor  !  "  cried  Mary,  "  she's  been  fondlin' 
of  'en ;  she's  been  holdin'  of  'en ;  an'  I  prayed  her 
to  let  'en  'bide." 

"He  is  flushed,"  remarked  the  doctor,  curbing  his 
impatience  as  he  leaned  over  the  cradle  and  looked  at 
the  child. 

With  a  sudden  horror  in  her  eyes,  Mary  caught  up 
the  little  sleeping  form  in  her  arms.  But  with  devilish 
maliciousness  Teresa  sprang  before  her,  and,  snatching 


230  A  SPAmSff  At  A  ID 

at  the  child,  hugged  him  in  a  rough  embrace;  then, 
winding  the  yellow  folds  close  about  him,  twirled  airily 
round  before  them  in  bravado,  and  laughed  aloud. 

"Give  the  child  to  his  mother,"  commanded  Master 
Humphrey,  gripping  her  by  the  shoulder.  But  she 
twisted  herself  from  his  hold,  and  stood  for  a  moment 
holding  the  boy  mockingly  towards  Mary,  the  yellow 
wrap  still  all  twined  about  him. 

"  Let  me  have  'en  ! "  cried  Mary  in  her  agony  of 
fear  for  him.  "  Give  'en  to  me  this  minute  ! "  And 
Zel  looked  at  her  with  wondering,  sleepy  eyes. 

But,  "  Ah,  no,  he  love— me— best !  "  declared  Teresa 
tauntingly. 

"Loves  you  best!"  echoed  Mary,  white  with  her 
indignation,  as  she  held  her  arms  to  her  boy.  "  Loves 
you  better  than  his  own  mother !  Come  !  my  precious  ! 
my  sonny  boy  !     Come  to  mother  !  " 

"  See  ! "  laughed  Teresa,  "  how  he  love  !  "  And,  step- 
ping back  a  pace,  she  held  the  baby  loosely  in  her  arms, 
watching  him  eagerly  with  her  burning  eyes,  while 
Mary  faced  them,  her  blue  eyes  hungering  and  her 
arms  outstretched.  And  then,  in  the  moment  of  silence 
which  followed,  and  while,  instinctively,  all  lips  were 
parted  and  no  one  dared  draw  breath,  the  baby  smiled, 
and  stretching  his  plump  arms  to  the  Spaniard,  laid 
them  about  her  neck. 


A   SPANISH  MAID  231 

"  Ah,  God  !  "  With  a  bitter  cry  Mary  sprang  forward, 
and,  raising  her  clenched  fist,  struck  down  the  baby 
arms  from  their  pretty  holding.  Then  a  sudden  jealous 
fury  leaped  into  her  face,  the  touch  of  the  soft  warm 
flesh  seemed  to  set  madness  running  in  her  veins,  and 
she  struck  it  again  and  again  brutally.  And  the  child's 
wild  cry  of  pain  rang  out  sharply,  and  he  turned  and 
spread  his  little  arms  to  his  mother  in  his  baby 
terror,  but  she  only  beat  them  down  again. 

The  sight  of  the  calm  woman  turned  brute  was  over- 
ghastly.  Master  Humphrey  sprang  forward  and  caught 
her  hands.  *'  Mary,  Mary,  you  are  mad  ! "  he  cried 
sharply.  And  then  the  door  opened,  and  Peter  came 
in. 

At  sight  of  her  husband  the  pent  pain  of  months 
foamed  out  from  Mary's  lips  in  furious  words.  Writhing 
in  her  desolation,  whipped  to  agony,  she  raved  recklessly 
of  Peter's  desertion,  of  his  love  for  the  Spaniard,  and 
of  her  own  empty  heart.  While  Zel  sobbed  wildly, 
and  stretched  his  baby  arms  for  pity,  and  real  tears 
blistered  his  burning  cheeks  and  splashed  upon  the 
silken  folds  which  still  bound  him  to  Teresa. 

For  some  moments  Peter  stood  dumb  before  this 
raging  wife,  who  seemed  as  a  stranger  to  him,  and  his 
eyes  were  wide  with  bewilderment.  Then  "What's  the 
meanin'  of  it  all  ?  "  he  cried  at  last,  bringing  his  fist  down 


232  A   SPANISH  MAID 

upon  the  table  in  stern  amazement.  "You'm  mad!" 
He  echoed  the  words  which  had  fallen  on  his  ears 
as  he  opened  his  own  door.    "  What's  this  maid  to  me  ?  " 

"  What's  the  maid  to  you  ? "  raged  Mary.  "  Every- 
thin',  an'  I'm  nothin'.  She's  stole  my  man ;  she's 
stole  my  child  ;   she's  stole  'Zekiel " 

"  You'm  speakin'  false ! "  said  Peter,  with  slow  fury. 
Then  he  turned  to  Teresa,  and,  without  a  glance  at 
her  mocking  face,  forced  the  child  firmly  from  her 
arms.  "Take  the  boy,  Mary!"  he  commanded,  hold- 
ing Zel  to  her,  and  the  little  fellow  spread  his  hands 
to  her  again. 

"  Take  him ! "  she  echoed,  "  when  he's  chose  her 
before  me ! "  and  she  raised  her  clenched  fist  once 
more  and  beat  down  the  baby  fingers.  "You've 
both  chose  her,  an'  I've  done  with  both.     Go  to  her, 

cherish   her "      She    stopped,    and    looked    round 

upon  them  all.  Peter,  strong  and  angry,  with  the 
sobbing  child  in  his  arms ;  the  doctor,  puzzled  and 
anxious;  Master  Humphrey,  white  and  suffering — all 
had  turned  from  her  to  the  Spaniard,  who  had  raised 
her  hand,  and,  smiling  still  and  defiant,  looked  back 
at  them  triumphantly  and  seemed  to  hold  their  souls. 

"  See !  "  laughed  Mary,  in  bitter  scorn,  "  see  how  the 
maid  bewitches  you  !  Every  man  looks  upon  her,  an' 
every  man  loves  her " 


A   SPANISH  MAID  233 

"No  man  loves  her,"  said  Master  Humphrey  slowly. 
But  Teresa  raised  her  hand  again,  and  from  overhead 
came  the  passionate  cry,  "  Teresa !  Teresa ! "  and 
the  parson's  tread  was  heard  upon  the  bare  floor. 

They  all  stood  silent  and  listened,  and  the  parson's 
voice  could  be  heard  in  a  dull  murmur;  and  then 
again  "Teresa ! "  came  the  wild  cry  overhead. 

"  'Zekiel's  callin'  the  maid." 

The  words  dropped  on  the  silence  so  quietly  that 
the  three  men  started  as  if  a  stranger  had  come  among 
them  unperceived.  From  Teresa's  face  the  smiles 
had  fallen  away. 

"  'Zekiel's  callin'  the  maid,"  said  Mary  again.  There 
was  an  intensity  in  her  voice  which  gripped  the  hear- 
ing. They  looked  at  her  now,  and  the  change  in 
her  awed  them.  All  the  fury  and  the  violence  had 
passed  away  from  her,  and  she  came  forward  slowly 
with  her  eyes  fixed  upon  Teresa. 

The  girl  met  her  gaze,  and  set  her  own  eyes  to 
shatter  the  power  of  it,  but  before  the  sudden  force 
fronting  them  they  wavered  and  then  quailed,  and 
she  shrank  back  with  a  half-realised  terror  draining 
away  her  defiance.  She  tried  to  re-form  the  smiles 
about  her  mouth,  to  make  the  laugh  sound  in  her 
throat  again,  but  her  mouth  had  stiffened,  and  her 
throat   had   narrowed.     The  woman  coming  so  slowly 


234 


A    SPANISH  MAID 


and  determinedly  towards  her  seemed  all  strength — 
and  inevitable ;  and  the  quick,  fearful  recollection  of 
an  evil  figure  coming,  just  as  strong  and  inevitable, 
nearer  and  nearer,  across  the  Spanish  plain,  flashed 
suddenly  through  the  girl's  brain  and  broke  her  daring. 

Then  Mary  was  close  to  her. 

Teresa  stood  rigid. 

With  slow,  strong  hands  the  woman  took  the  loose 
ends  of  the  yellow  silk  which  had  bound  the  child, 
and  twined  them  tightly  about  the  girl.  Then,  with  a 
vice-like  grip  on  each  shoulder  she  turned  the  girl's 
face  to  the  door,  and  slowly  forced  her  from  the 
house. 

"I'm  cursin'  'ee!"  she  said  quietly.  "Go!"  And 
with  a  sharp  cry  of  fear  Teresa  broke  from  her  hold 
and  ran  out  into  the  mist.  And  Mary  closed  the  door. 
Then  turning  to  Peter  she  took  Zel  from  his  arms. 

"Doctor,"  she  said,  in  the  same  tense,  monotonous 
voice,  "the  child  seems  fevered.  Will  'ee  be  so  good 
as  to  look  at  him?"  And  the  doctor  stepped  across 
to  the  settle  as  she  laid  her  son  upon  it. 

"Teresa!" 

The  cry  rang  out  again  from  the  bedroom  overhead, 
but  Mary  was  deaf  to  it  now,  and  it  was  Peter  who 
turned  and  stumbled  up  the  stairs  in  answer. 

Master  Humphrey,  with  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  closed 


A   SPANISH  MAID  235 

door,  still  saw  only  the  flying  figure  disappearing  into 
the  mist,  and  heard  only  the  ring  of  that  last,  sharp 
cry.  His  veins  were  running  with  fire  and  ice.  and 
his  head  seemed  over-heavy,  but  he  was  realising  that 
the  girl  with  her  plague-wrap  had  gone  out  into  the 
day,  and  that  some  one  must  follow  and  take  it  from 
her. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

A  ND  Master  Humphrey  followed. 
•^  -^  Teresa  had  run,  but  he  did  not  run,  for  his 
head  felt  heavy  as  lead,  and  it  seemed  as  if  to  run 
would  be  to  trample  upon  it  with  his  own  feet.  The 
hill,  too,  as  he  stumbled  on,  lifted  itself  and  lurched 
before  his  eyes.  There  was  a  nausea  rising  at  the  back 
of  his  throat  which  locked  his  jaws.  And  the  mist 
dropped  down  and  turned  him  chilly;  and,  more  than 
anything  else  in  the  whole  world,  he  longed  to  halt 
and  lie  down  upon  the  sodden  turf,  and  rest,  and  rest, 
and  rest,  until  all  the  trouble  was  over  and  done 
with. 

But  he  passed  his  hand  over  his  eyes  which  were 
aching,  and  he  remembered  that  there  must  be  no 
rest  yet.  Landecarrock  was  plague-stricken.  And 
there  was  something — something  which  he  must  do. 
What  was  it  ?  Ah,  yes !  The  girl  Teresa  and  her 
piece  of  silk  !     He  must  hurry  !     Hurry  ! 

236 


A   SPANISH  MAID 


237 


He  stumbled  on  down  through  the  village  street. 
He  would  have  asked  if  the  maid  had  passed  that 
way,  but  there  was  no  living  creature  with  whom  to 
exchange  a  word.  The  street  was  empty.  The  doors 
were  closed.  The  whole  place  was  silent  but  for  the 
distant  slow  plashing  of  the  waves  down  there  in  the 
mist  by  the  boat-sheds,  and — surely  there  was  another 
sound  in  his  ears — a  short,  monotonous  rapping  !  Yes, 
of  course ;  it  was  Carpenter  Upjohn's  hammer  at  work 
upon  the  coffins. 

He  found  her  at  the  foot  of  the  village  street,  where 
the  two  roads  branch — the  one  leading  Pensallas  way, 
the  other  down  to  the  boat-sheds.  She  was  panting, 
and  trembling  a  little,  too,  and  uncertain  which  way  to 
take ;  but  she  seemed  to  have  cast  off  that  sudden 
fear  which  had  stolen  her  strength  and  set  her 
shrinking,  for,  as  she  saw  Master  Humphrey  nearing 
her,  she  tossed  her  head  with  her  old  defiance,  and 
faced  him  with  blazing  eyes. 

"  Give  me  the  silk ! "  he  demanded,  and  he  did  not 
glance  at  her  face. 

With  her  eyes  still  upon  him  she  stepped  back  a 
pace,  and,  slowly  drawing  the  long,  yellow  wrap,  all 
sodden  and  limp,  from  about  her  shoulders,  she  wound 
it  tightly  about  her  left  arm,  leaving  her  right  arm 
free. 


238  A   SPANISH  MAID 

"  Give  it  to  me ! "  he  commanded  again,  advancing 
as  she  retreated  slowly  downwards  towards  the  sheds. 

She  did  not  utter  a  sound,  but,  with  her  eyes  still 
fastened  upon  him,  as  a  panther  gauging  the  moment 
for  his  spring,  she  moved  cautiously,  step  by  step, 
backwards,  down  the  rough  path.  And  step  by  step 
he  followed  her,  until,  in  such  fashion,  they  neared  the 
cottage  where  Daniel  Laskey  sat  at  his  door. 

Then  the  path  waved  on  either  side  of  Master 
Humphrey ;  he  could  see  it  quivering,  though  his  eyes 
were  fixed  upon  the  girl's  left  arm.  It  seemed  that 
he  was  tottering  forward.  And  he  had  not  yet  taken 
that  wrap  from  her !  It  must  be  done  now,  quickly, 
if  he  meant  to  do  it  at  all. 

Straining  all  his  muscles  to  cords — the  muscles 
which  had  been  growing  gradually  slack  as  wool — he 
sprang  forward  and  seized  her  hands  in  his,  and 
then  there  followed  a  silent  and  a  horrible  struggle — 
but  it  was  short. 

As  Master  Humphrey  clutched  at  the  yellow  thing 
bound  about  the  dark  arm,  he  saw  the  girl's  head 
bend  forward  quickly  upon  it;  then  a  hot  breath  fell 
upon  the  back  of  his  hand,  and  then  he  felt  the 
sharp,  burning  pain  of  teeth  tearing  his  flesh;  he 
seemed  to  hear  it,  too,  and  the  sickening  sound  was 
worse  than  the  pain  of  it.     His  whole  body  was  filled 


A   SPANISH  MAW  239 

with  a  sudden  loathing  which  was  abhorrent  to  him 
and  unendurable;  he  could  hear  the  sound  growing 
louder  and  louder^  and  he  understood  that  it  was 
killing  him.  It  became  a  roar,  and  deafened  his  ears ; 
his  wide  eyes  grew  sightless ;  he  felt  his  face  grow 
damp  and  cold  as  death ;  his  torn  hand  slackened 
its  grip  on  the  silk,  and  then  he  felt  himself  falling 
— falling — falling  ! 

There  was  a  crash  upon  the  pebbles. 

From  away  in  the  mist  came  an  ugly  cry  of  rage 
or  fear. 

Teresa,  standing  straight,  and  a  little  breathless, 
began  to  unwind  the  damp  silk  from  her  arm. 

Crash ! 

A  stone  hurled  through  the  air  struck  at  her  foot 
and  scattered  pebbles  widely.  Another  sharp  cry 
sounded  on  the  dank  air;  this  time  it  came  from 
Teresa,  and  there  was  no  fear  in  it,  only  anger. 
Snatching  up  a  handful  of  pebbles,  she  turned  furiously 
to  face  her  foe,  and  saw  Daniel  Laskey  rising  painfully 
to  his  feet,  with  a  threatening  hand  outstretched 
towards  a  large  figure  looming  in  the  mist. 

It  was  Sam'le,  and  his  hand  was  raised  again  into 
hurling  position. 

In  an  instant  Teresa  had  sprung  towards  him, 
flinging     the     pebbles     wildly;       but     they     scattered 


240  A   SPANISH  MAW 

themselves  harmlessly,  and  even  as  he  ran  from  her 
in  terror,  he  sent  the  stone  he  held,  whizzing  back  at 
her;  and  his  aim  was  true,  for  it  struck  her  sharply 
on  the  hand. 

For  an  instant  Teresa  stood  in  ugly  rage — 
uncertain.  And  then,  the  fiend  which  lived  in  her, 
prompted  her  to  the  evil  work  which  brought  her 
her  revenge  upon  the  frightened,  slack-faced  fool, 
shivering  there  in  the  mist  and  hating  her,  and  brought 
it  more  swiftly  and  more  surely,  too,  than  any  but  a 
fiend  could  have  conceived. 

With  a  devilish  instinct  telling  her  what  would  be 
most  hideous  and  most  terrible  to  this  half-witted 
fellow,  she  turned  and  faced  the  old  man  in  his 
doorway,  and,  springing  on  him,  she  gripped  him  by 
the  tluoat  with  her  young  strength,  and  then  she 
brought  her  clenched  fist  down  upon  his  head. 

Daniel  was  terribly  silent.  He  had  ever  been  a  man 
of  few  words,  and  his  was  no  nature  to  bounce  with 
emergencies.  Once  or  twice  he  raised  a  feeble  hand 
in  defence,  but  Teresa  beat  it  down  again.  And  then, 
back  through  the  mist  came  Sam'le  to  suffer  for  his 
sin.  Nearer  and  nearer  he  came.  He  ran,  he  sidled, 
he  halted,  he  stumbled  forward,  he  stood,  he  wrung 
his  limp  fingers;  but  in  all  that  he  did  he  suffered, 
and  no  mode  of  advance  brought  ease  with  it.     Sharp, 


A   SPANISH  MAID  241 

snapping  cries  of  rage  and  torment  broke  from  him. 
He  writhed  in  his  terror,  his  hmbs  shook,  his  eyes 
started,  his  Hps  quivered. 

But  he  had  to  come  closer  and  watch  the  ugly  work  ; 
a  spell  was  on  him — the  spell  which  drags  timid  children 
to  hsten  to  an  old  wife's  tales  of  murder  and  spectral 
victims,  only  to  shriek  aloud  in  the  night  at  horror  of 
the  recollection.  He  had  to  watch  ;  therein  lay  Teresa's 
revenge.  He  was  forced  to  watch,  and  he  might  not  kill 
the  demon  who  was  torturing  him,  for  Nature  had  held 
back  many  things  from  Sam'le  Laskey,  and  one  of  these 
was  courage. 

When  her  fury  was  somewhat  eased,  Teresa  turned 
and  looked  at  Sam'le,  and  the  light  in  her  eyes  sent 
him  back  swiftly  into  the  mist.  Then  she  turned  again 
to  Master  Humphrey,  and  when  she  had  looked  at 
him  for  a  moment  she  laughed.  And  then  the  sound 
of  that  laugh,  and  the  sight  of  the  two  men  close  to 
her,  so  quiet,  and  huddled,  and  horrible,  and  the  silence, 
and  the  chill,  the  pause,  the  stillness,  the  very  smell  of 
death  in  the  air,  filled  her  with  a  quick  terror.  It 
was  as  if  she  were  alone  in  the  world — alone  with  but 
one  other  breathing  creature,  one  merciless  man,  always 
seeking,  always  drawing  nearer  and  nearer  to  her  across 
the  plains,  across  the  seas,  through  the  mist,  tramping 
— tramping  ! 

Q 


^42  A   SPANISH  MAID 

Footsteps  were  sounding  on  the  empty  street  beyond 
— footsteps  coming  closer.  With  a  curious  inconsistency 
born  of  her  fear,  Teresa  tore  off  the  long  strip  of  yellow 
silk,  the  thing  she  had  fought  for,  and  desired  so  much, 
and,  casting  it  down  upon  Master  Humphrey's  still  body, 
turned  and  sped  away  from  that  horrible  spot. 

From  either  side  of  the  beach  came  a  figure  through 
the  mist ;  and  one  was  quick,  and  small,  and  bustling, 
unconscious  of  the  work  lying  so  close  to  his  hands, 
the  other  was  loose-limbed,  white-faced,  terrified,  creep- 
ing fearfully  back  towards  the  sight  he  knew  to  be 
there.  And  the  doctor  worked,  while  Sam'le  shuddered, 
and  each  accomplished  in  full  measure. 

And  as  evening  fell  there  was  woe  at  Pensallas,  for 
the  whisper  ran  from  maid  to  maid,  as  water  down  a 
slope,  that  the  squire  was  stricken  with  the  plague. 
And  up  in  the  squire's  bedroom  Dame  Tellam  took  up 
her  position,  and  snapped  words  at  any  who  dared 
withstand  her  and  hint  of  risk.  Master  Humphrey 
was  her  nursling,  wasn't  he,  and  the  last  of  his  race  ? 
And  if  he  had  to  die,  what  did  anything  else  matter  ? 
If  she  took  the  plague — and  they  all  seemed  set  upon 
it — what  matter  for  that?  She  had  to  die  some  day, 
and  why  not  by  the  plague  while  'twas  going  about? 
'Twould  be  quick,  and  'twould  save  a  sight  of  trouble. 
And  so  on,  and  so  on.     And  the  maids  in  the  kitchen 


A   SPANISH  MAID  243 

trembled  and  bit  their  tongues  ;  and  had  they  been 
French  they  would  have  described  Dame  Tellam  in 
those  hours  as  difficile,  but,  being  Landecarrock,  they 
only  tightened  their  lips  and  did  not  fuss  to  find  a 
word. 

Up  at  the  Parsonage,  in  the  parson's  room,  Miss 
Ursula  sat  on  the  window-seat,  with  Agrimony  for 
company,  and  looked  out  into  the  gloom,  waiting  for 
time  to  pass  and  all  the  while  dreading  its  passing,  for 
the  parson  had  come  striding  back  to  them  between 
his  errands  of  mercy,  and  had  spoken  through  the 
window  the  dire  tidings  from  the  village,  and  life  had 
turned  appalling  in  their  sight. 

"  Humphrey,  too ! "  cried  Miss  Ursula  in  her  heart. 

"  'Zekiel  raving  again  ! "  thought  Agrimony,  chafing. 

"  Poor  old  Daniel !  "  they  murmured  aloud. 

And  now  and  again  came  'Lizabeth  to  look  at  them 
and  add  some  dark  forebodings;  but  she  did  not 
loiter  long  with  them,  for  there  was  work  to  be  done 
as  long  as  any  one  was  left  alive,  and  she  found 
neither  mistress  nor  maid  pleasantly  sociable.  Miss 
Ursula  was  silent  and  sad,  Agrimony  was  silent  also, 
but  she  found  room  for  wrath  in  her  sorrow.  'Zekiel 
at  any  rate,  was  not  ill  of  the  plague  ;  and  her  thoughts 
beat  about  the  foreign  maid,  and  she  chafed. 

A   little   further   down   the   hill   Peter  Ludgven  was 


244  ^   SPANISH  MAID 

turning  in  at  the  churchyard  gate,  and  he  carried  a 
spade  on  his  shoulder.  It  was  not  coastguard's  work 
he  had  come  to  do  among  the  graves,  but  hands  were 
becoming  scarce  in  Landecarrock. 

Down  by  the  boat-sheds  Sam'le  Laskey  kept  vigil 
on  the  pebbly  beach  outside  the  cottage  door.  Inside 
his  home  there  was  no  need  for  watching  now. 

As  the  day  drew  on  towards  night  a  change  passed 
over  the  land.  The  mist,  which  for  weeks  had  hung 
low  down  on  everything,  was  lifted  at  last,  as  if  a  kind 
hand  in  Heaven  had  raised  a  heavy,  white  curtain. 
And  up  in  the  sky  a  pale,  great  moon-face  looked  out, 
pranked  by  brilliant  stars  in  multitudes,  seeming  as  if 
they  had  now  remembered,  and  turned,  in  mercy,  to 
shine  upon  the  distressful  village  below. 

Along  the  garden  path  leading  to  Peter  Ludgven's 
white  cottage,  a  slight  figure  crept  slowly  and  without 
noise  between  the  bush  shadows,  and  when  it  reached 
the  cottage  door  it  raised  the  latch  cautiously,  and  still 
crept  on  into  the  dim  kitchen.  Here  the  shadows 
were  deep  and  moved  gruesomely,  for  the  room  was 
lighted  only  by  the  peats  upon  the  hearth. 

Over  there,  before  the  blaze,  a  woman  was  sitting 
on  a  low  chair,  quite  still,  quite  silent,  bending  forward, 
and  her  back  was  turned  to  the  door.  The  creeping 
figure   halted   and   stood    uncertain,    waiting  again   for 


A   SPANISH  MAID  245 

Fate  to  take  the  initiative.  In  the  morning  she  had 
been  forced  out  from  this  home — cursed;  now,  in  the 
evening,  she  had  come  back  to  it,  silently  defiant.  But 
the  home  had  become  strange,  altered ;  the  silence  and 
the  shadows  were  awesome.  The  bent  figure  over  by 
the  hearth,  so  utterly  still,  made  her  shiver;  the  quiet 
began  to  grow  terrible. 

"Teresa!  Teresa!" 

She  remembered  that  cry ;  that  was  not  changed.  It 
rang  out  shrilly  now  from  the  room  overhead,  quicken- 
ing the  blood  in  her  veins,  and  with  stealthy  feet  she 
moved  to  the  stairway  and  crept  softly  up  towards 
the  voice. 

She  stopped  again  in  the  doorway  of  the  bedroom 
and  looked  in.  The  room  was  bright  with  the  flare 
of  loose-wicked  tallow  candles,  and  'Zekiel  had  raised 
himself  in  the  bed,  and  was  pointing  with  his  right 
arm  to  a  chest  standing  in  the  corner  by  the  window, 
issuing  commands.  Old  Ann  Vitty,  moving  to  and 
fro,  obeyed  them  all,  by  way  of  humouring  him.  Ann 
Vitty's  eyes,  as  she  turned  towards  the  light,  seemed 
over-washed  with  weeping,  but  Charity  was  in  her 
grave,  Betty  was  laid  out  white  and  tidy  for  burial, 
and  surely  it  was  as  well  to  come  and  help  a  neigh- 
bour  as   to    sit    and    moan,    with    folded    hands,   and 


246  A   SPANISH  MAID 

picture    the    home-coming    of    the   sailor-husband   and 
father. 

"  The  blue  scarf,"  said  'Zelciel  impatiently.  "  I 
couldn'  wrap  a  black  thing  about  my  throat ;  'twould 
scare  the  maid." 

"  No,  no,  dear  heart  and  soul ! "  murmured  Ann 
Vitty,  folding  the  black  scarf  obediently,  and  drawing 
out  the  blue,  to  add  to  the  pile  of  garments  on  the 
chair. 

"  Teresa ! " 

He  fell  back  again  on  his  pillows,  throwing  his 
arms  high,  and  wringing  his  hands  wildly. 

"  Teresa  !  Teresa  ! " 

"  Hush  'ee,  hush  'ee,  dear  heart ! "  cooed  Ann  Vitty, 
treading  forward  to  smooth  his  rigid  arm  and  comfort 
him.  But  her  hand  was  pushed  aside,  and  with  a 
quavering  cry  she  looked  across  the  bed  and  into 
the  very  eyes  of  the  foreign  maid. 

"  'Zekiel — Teresa — here — near— close  ! "  The  girl  laid 
her  hand  upon  his  cheek  and  the  touch  was  a  caress. 
"  Ah,  'Zekiel !  " 

At  her  touch  and  the  sound  of  her  voice  his  arms 
dropped,  and  he  raised  his  head  listening. 

"  She's  callin',  callin'  to  me  !  "  he  whispered  hoarsely. 

Teresa  laid  a  hand  on  either  cheek  and  turned  his 
face   to   hers,    and  his   eyes   were   straining,    but    they 


A   SPANISH  MAID  247 

looked  through  her,  and  beyond  her,  and  did  not  see 
her  there  so  close. 

"  'Zekiel ! "  she  called  softly.  And  he  sprang  up, 
mad  with  the  sound  of  it. 

"  Let  the  boy  'bide  in  peace,"  cried  Ann  Vitty 
sternly.  "You've  a-worked  'en  mischeef  enough.  Go 
from  'en,  I  tell  'ee,  an'  leave  'en  to  die  in  peace, 
you  heathen  witch — you  ! " 

But  Teresa  smiled  in  her  face,  and  fondled  'Zekiel's 
clenching  hands. 

*'  'Zekiel ! "  she  called  again,  pleased  with  her  power. 
And  'Zekiel  flung  out  his  arms,  his  voice  caught  in 
his  throat,  and  he  gasped  and  panted  for  his  breath. 

"  Go  from  my  sight ! "  commanded  Ann  Vitty,  "  or 
I'll  beat  'ee  down  them  there  stairs."  She  came  round 
the  bed  and  gripped  her  bony  fingers  on  the  girl's 
arms.  "Go,"  she  commanded  again,  "or  I'll  beat 
'ee  down  as  you  stan' ! "  And  though  the  girl  might 
not  know  the  words,  the  raised  fist  looked  strong  and 
ugly,  and  she  shrugged  her  shoulders  and  yielded. 

"  'Zekiel,  dear  one  ! "  she  called  back  softly. 

"She's  callin'  to  me,"  he  whispered,  raising  his 
hand  for  silence.  "  I'm  comin',  comin',  sweetheart ! " 
Then  he  turned  his  face  to  the  doorway  where  she 
stood,  and  his  eyes  seemed  to  see  her  far  away,  and 
she  looked  back  and  beckoned  to  him,  smiling;   but 


248  A   SPANISH  MAID 

Ann  Vitty's  strength  was  painful,  and  Teresa  turned 
from  the  Hght  and  stumbled  down  the  dark  stairway 
again  to  the  kitchen. 

At  the  sound  of  the  footsteps,  the  figure  by  the  hearth 
raised  its  head  and  faced  the  girl.  It  was  Mary  Ludgven. 
A  branch  of  dried  gorse  falling  forward  on  the  peats 
flamed  up,  and  the  light  showed  her  face  to  be  awful. 

"  You  ! "  she  said  slowly,  and  her  voice  sounded  dead. 
"  Come  fore'." 

And  Teresa  stepped  over  to  her,  for  the  voice  was 
compelling. 

"Come  fore'  an'  look  at  my  baby,"  repeated  Mary. 
And  Teresa  looked  down  upon  her  lap  and  saw  the 
child  stretched  there. 

"  I  beat  'en  to-day,"  went  on  the  mother,  and  through 
her  dull  tones  there  ran  an  awful  note.  "  I  beat  'en. 
The  feel  of  his  little  arm,  warm,  is  under  my  hand  all 
the  time,  as  'twas  then.  I  beat  'en,  an'  he  stretched 
fore'  his  hands  to  me,  his  eyes  was  all  swimmin'  with 
his  baby  tears,  an'  I  beat  'en  back,  I  beat  'en  back 
every  time.  An'  through  his  great  tears,  an'  with  his 
lips  all  drawn  down  tremblin',  he  looked  to  me,  sobbin' 
an'  wonderin'  to  be  served  so.  An'  I  beat  'en  every 
time ;  the  feel  is  under  my  hand,  the  marks  is  on  his 
arms.  He's  stopped  his  sobbin',  but  he's  shut  his  eyes. 
I  tried  to  coax  'en,  but  he  wouldn'  laugh  back  to  me. 


A   SPANISH  MAID  249 

he  shut  his  eyes.  Make  'en  laugh  back  to  me,  Teresa ; 
they  all  does  as  you  wishes  'em." 

And  Teresa,  with  a  boastful  laugh,  leaned  down  and 
caught  roughly  at  the  bruised  little  arm  to  wake  the 
child.  But  at  the  touch  of  his  flesh  the  laugh  shuddered 
into  a  ghastly  shriek,  and  the  arm  dropped  heavily 
upon  Mary's  knee. 

"  He— is— ice !  "  she  cried.  "  Cold  !  Dead  ! "  And 
she  sprang  back  towards  the  door. 

"  Dead ! "  Mary  rose  to  her  feet  and  turned  to  the 
girl,  holding  one  bruised  little  arm  close  to  her  breast. 

"  But — I  beat  'en "  she  cried  slowly.     "  Won't   he 

never — laugh  back  to  me — no  more  ?  " 

But  the  frozen  agony  on  her  face  was  terrible,  and 
Teresa,  in  wild  fear,  ran  from  the  sight  of  it,  out  into  the 
night,  rather  than  answer  that  question. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

OHE  sped  back  along  the  garden  path  between  the 
^^  bush  shadows,  and  out  through  the  gate,  then 
down  the  hill,  and  on  across  the  rough  road  by  Ann 
Vitty's  fuchsia  bush ;  and  as  she  ran  she  shut  her  eyes, 
for  the  sight  of  Mary  Ludgven's  ghastly  face  danced 
before  her,  and  it  was  a  sight  to  be  shut  out.  Pressed 
lids,  however,  could  not  accomplish  it,  for  horror  had 
painted  the  picture  on  her  eyes,  and  in  her  ears  one 
word  was  ringing,  clanging  and  persistent  as  a  meeting- 
house bell,  "  Comin' !  Comin' !  "  and  it  whipped  her 
fear  and  drove  her  on.  Then  she  felt  the  rising  road 
beneath  her  feet,  and  she  opened  her  eyes  again  and 
saw  the  cliff  hill  before  her,  and  she  hurried  on  without 
a  pause,  up  the  steep  side  of  it,  to  the  turfy  level  at  the 
top.  Then,  swerving,  down  again  over  the  face  of  it, 
clutching  at  the  tufted  sea-pinks  as  she  stumbled  down 
the  path,  re-treading  every  foot  of  the  way  over  which 

250 


A   SPANISH  MAID  251 

she  had  first  come,   on   that  storm-washed   September 
morning,  from  the  sea  to  Mary  Ludgven's  home. 

On  Averack  beach  she  stopped,  for  the  sea  fronted 
her  and  barred  her  way — on  Averack  beach,  where 
'Zekiel  had  come  to  her,  and,  bending  down,  had  taken 
her  into  his  arms  and  into  his  Hfe.  She  stood  and 
faced  the  waves,  and  the  sea-pinks  she  had  clutched 
from  the  edge  of  the  path  were  still  in  her  hands.  She 
looked  down  on  them,  and  in  the  white  moonshine 
they  were  pale  and  dead-looking.  Pale  and  dead ! 
— that  was  as  the  baby  would  be,  back  in  the  cottage. 
So  cold  he  was,  too !  Drops  of  ice-water  seemed  still 
to  be  dripping  from  the  fingers  which  had  clutched  the 
dead  little  arm.  With  a  shiver  she  flung  the  flowers 
out  upon  the  waves,  and  tried  to  fling  the  recollection 
with  them. 

Some  ghastly  spell  seemed  to  be  upon  the  land,  upon 
the  night,  upon  her  own  eyes,  ears,  brain.  Averack 
beach  was  backed  by  steep  chffs,  and  fronted  by  the 
sea,  but  as  Teresa  stood  there,  gripping  and  loosening 
her  small  brown  hands,  and  looking  out  across  the 
silver  way,  it  was  as  if  a  magic  finger  had  put  back  her 
life-clock,  as  if  she  were  still  standing  upon  the  Spanish 
plain,  haunted,  forsaken.  She  bore  the  horror  of  it 
all  for  a  while,  and  then  she  tossed  her  head  and 
laughed  aloud.     There,  it  had  been  an  unshapely  tent 


252  A   SPANISH  MAID 

that  stood  behind  her,  no  towering  cHff  or  white-washed 
cottage ;  there  it  had  been  mile  after  mile  of  dry, 
parched  land,  stretching  before  her,  not  a  wet,  heaving 
sea.  But  the  spell  of  the  night  weighed  down  upon 
her  again ;  the  horror  was  not  to  be  tossed  off  with  a 
jerk  of  the  head.  There  were  miles,  too,  of  that  wet, 
heaving  sea  stretching  before  her,  and  the  moon  was 
shining  on  it  as  it  had  shone  on  the  plain.  And  in  the 
white-washed  cottage  there  was  death,  as  there  had  been 
in  the  tent.  She  knew  it,  and  she  shuddered,  and 
everything  seemed  awful — nothing  impossible.  And 
the  night  passed  on,  and  she  stood  there  rigid,  except 
for  the  ceaseless  clasping  and  unclasping  of  her  hands, 
and  her  eyes  saw  terrible  sights  on  the  moon-touched 
water,  and  always  in  her  ears  was  ringing  the  one  word, 
"  Comin' !  Comin' ! "  breaking  towards  her  with  each 
wave. 

At  length,  and  suddenly,  there  rang  out  a  sharper 
call,  "  Comin' ! "  and  Teresa  turned  towards  it.  A  boat 
was  coming  in  over  the  silver  sea;  she  could  see  it 
clearly,  and  a  man  was  at  the  oars.  Then  with  the 
fear  of  that  other  night  so  strong  on  her,  a  band  of 
terror  wound  itself  about  her  heart,  gripping  it  tight, 
and  each  breath  brought  a  groan.  And  she  watched 
the  man  draw  nearer  and  nearer,  and  her  eyes  were 
wide   and   strained.     Then    at    last    she   saw   the   boat 


A   SPANISH  MAID  253 

rise  on  the  breakers,  and  heard  it  grind  upon  the 
shingle,  and  then,  as  she  looked,  the  band  about  her 
heart  snapped  with  a  stinging  tang  of  joy,  and  she 
closed  her  lids  for  a  moment  to  ease  their  aching. 
And  the  man  leaped  out  and  hurried  towards  her. 

It  was  'Zekiel — 'Zekiel  Myners  !  They  had  told  her 
he  was  ill,  near  to  death,  and  he  was  here  by  her 
side,  laughing,  bare-headed !  She  had  never  heard  him 
laugh  in  that  way  before — and,  oh !  it  was  a  good 
thing  to  be  merry — merry,  on  such  a  night ! 

"  I've  come  to  'ee,  sweetheart !  I  heard  'ee  callin' 
of  me,  an'  I've  come." 

His  voice  was  soft,  but  joyous  as  a  bird's,  and  his 
hands  caught  hers  and  laid  them  tightly  upon  his 
breast.  He  was  wearing  the  clothes  which  Ann  Vitty 
had  laid  out  for  him,  and  the  blue  scarf  was  knotted 
loosely  about  his  throat.  Handsome  his  face  was,  too, 
though  it  was  white  as  death. 

"  'Zekiel ! "  she  cried,  her  voice  trembling  as  a  little 
child's  all  glad  and  eager.  "  Ah,  'Zekiel,  I  am — happy  ! 
I  was  desolate." 

He  lifted  her  face  to  the  full  light  of  the  moon, 
and  looked  down  upon  it,  smiling. 

"  Come ! "  he  said,  and  there  was  a  grand  power  in 
his  voice.     "  Come,  darlin' ! " 

With  a  strong  arm  he  drew  her  forward  to  the  boat 


254  A  SPANISH  MAID 

lying  at  the  water's  edge,  and  without  a  word  she  did 
his  bidding,  and,  stepping  in,  went  to  the  stern,  and 
sat  there  watching  him. 

'Zekiel  had  come  to  her  again  on  Averack  beach 
— had  come  when  all  things  were  ugly  and  terrible, 
and  he  was  strong  and  light-hearted — to-night.  Master 
Humphrey — he  had  become  grim  and  stern,  and — ah, 
so  still  and  horrible!  'Zekiel  was  better — at  least, 
to-night.  She  laughed  softly  to  herself  as  she  watched 
him  push  off  the  boat  and  then  leap  into  it  as  it 
swung  free  from  the  beach.  And  then  as  he  faced 
her  and  sHd  out  his  oars  she  smiled  back  at  him; 
and  so,  each  looking  joyously  into  the  other's  moonlit 
face,  they  glided  outward  under  the  stars. 

Beyond  the  little  breakers  the  sea  was  smooth  as 
a  pool,  and  'Zekiel  pulled  a  slow,  rhythmic  stroke 
along  the  trembling,  silver  way  which  seemed  to  lead 
to  Heaven.  Circles  of  light  quivered  about  the  oars 
as  they  dipped  out  of  sight,  and  showers  of  light 
dripped  off  them  as  they  rose  again.  And  for  a  long 
while  no  word  was  spoken  as  the  boat  passed  out, 
away  from  the  shore,  into  the  absolute  silence  of  the 
wonderful  night.  And  the  soft  air  was  as  a  warm 
breath  upon  the  bare  neck  of  the  girl,  and  did  not 
stir  so  much  as  a  curl  upon  the  man's  uncovered 
head. 


A   SPANISH  MAID  255 

At  length  'Zekiel  stopped — the  oars,  poised  above 
the  water,  dripped  only  single  drops  of  light  back 
into  it — ^and  bending  towards  the  girl  he  whispered 
with  an  awesome  gladness  :  "  We'm  nearin'  Heaven  ! " 

For  answer  she  spread  her  little  hands  to  him,  as 
if  her  heaven  were  there. 

Then  he  shipped  oars,  and,  leaning  over,  drew  her 
to  him,  and  for  the  second  time  he  held  her  clasped 
tightly  in  his  arms,  her  soft  cheek  upon  his  happy 
heart.  And  in  all  the  world  there  seemed  no  pain, 
no  sin,  no  sorrow,  no  sound  even,  but  the  slow  lap 
of  the  water  against  the  boat,  which  heaved  gently, 
as  if  it,  too,  were  a  soft  cheek  pressed  against  a 
happy  heart.  And  the  glorious  sky  above  was  radiant, 
the  stars  peered  down,  and  some  were  trembling  as 
if  with  sympathy,  and  the  moon  looked  full  upon  the 
man  and  maid,  for  her  pale  glow  was  no  intrusion, 
and  once  or  twice  a  fleck  of  light  dropped  and 
trailed  down  athwart  the  sky,  as  if  a  happy  tear  had 
fallen  from  the  gentle  eye. 

And  in  the  boat  'Zekiel  at  length  raised  the  dark 
face  to  his.  "  Darlin' ! "  he  cried  triumphantly,  and 
he  pressed  his  lips  on  hers. 

And  so  he  held  her — her  cheek  to  his — her  heart  to 
his  heart — and  the  pain,  the  torment,  the  madness,  all 
forgotten,  wiped  from  his  mind. 


256  A  SPANISH  MAID 

And  time  passed  on.  The  night  moved  nearer  to 
the  dawning.  The  boat  heaved  gently  upon  the  sea's 
slow-throbbing  heart,  and  the  silence  of  a  dead  world 
lay  upon  the  face  of  the  waters. 

The  quick,  mournful  cry  of  a  sea-bird,  lonely  and 
benighted,  struck  their  ears  at  last,  and  'Zekiel  raised 
his  face  to  the  sky,  and  so  he  held  it,  alert,  as  if 
waiting  for  more  sound.  Then  he  loosed  his  arms 
from  the  girl.  "  Comin' ! ''  he  whispered,  and  he  passed 
one  hand  across  his  eyes.  His  other  hand  falling,  struck 
upon  an  oar,  and  by  instinct  he  gripped  it  and  settled 
it  in  the  rowlock,  then  turned  and  slid  the  other  blade 
out  on  the  wet  shine  of  the  sea.  And  Teresa  crouched 
back  in  the  stern,  and  watched  the  blades  grip  the 
water,  then  rise  and  dip  again. 

Still  no  word  was  spoken,  and  the  boat  turned  and 
pointed  her  bow  shorewards,  and  glided  back  over 
the  trembling  light  again.  A  heavy  foreboding  began 
to  creep  about  Teresa's  heart  and  press  upon  it.  The 
rise  and  fall  of  the  oars  held  her  eyes,  and  she  grew 
to  dread  each  stroke  that  was  pulled;  but  she  could 
not  find  courage  to  break  through  the  silence  and  stop 
them  by  a  command.  She  could  not  find  strength  to 
put  out  her  hands  and  grip  them  to  stillness ;  she  knew 
that  she  was  being  taken  back  to  the  land  where  there 
was   death.      She    knew    that  she   hated   it,    and   was 


A   SPANISH  MAID  257 

afraid,  but  she  knew  that   the  going   back  was  inevit- 
able. 

'Zekiel's  eyes  were  turned  from  her ;  he  was  looking 
out  to  the  horizon,  as  if  waiting  for  something  which 
lay  beyond. 

When  the  boat  grated  upon  Averack  beach  again, 
'Zekiel  stepped  quickly  out  and  strode  away  towards 
the  cliff  path.  He  threw  no  glance  back  as  he  went. 
It  seemed  that  he  had  forgotten  the  girl,  and  she, 
in  her  wonder,  looked  at  him  and  let  him  go. 

But  to-night  her  brain  was  full  of  tricks  and  fancies. 
Averack  beach  held  horrors ;  unreasonable,  impossible, 
ghastly  things  were  lurking  on  every  side  of  her,  and 
when  her  lover  had  reached  the  cliff  and  had  begun  to 
climb  the  path,  she  sprang  from  the  boat,  terrified,  and 
sped  after  him  across  the  shingle. 

"  'Zekiel ! "  she  panted  as  she  neared  him.  "  Stop  ! 
Is  it — that  I — am  nothing — to  you  ?  " 

He  turned  at  the  sound  of  her  voice  and  looked 
towards  the  sea,  smiling. 

"  'Zekiel !  'Zekiel ! "  she  cried.  "  I  am  here — I,  Teresa 
—close  ! " 

She  laid  a  hand  upon  his  arm,  and  he  caught  at  it 
fiercely  and  gladly. 

"Teresa  ! "  he  whispered,  " sweetheart ! " 

His    grip   was   rough,    and    she    stumbled   and    fell 

R 


258  A   SPANISH  MAID 

forward,  clutching  and  tearing  at  a  tuft  of  sea-pinks 
growing  by  the  path  edge.  But  he  caught  her  quickly 
to  him  again. 

"  Don't  'ee  go  from  me,  darlin' ;  don't  'ee  draw 
back  from  me,"  he  said  coaxingly.  And  then  he  flung 
his  arms  about  her,  and  bent  to  her  lips,  and  kissed 
them  passionately  again  and  again. 

For  a  while  he  stood  there  on  the  steep  path,  sway- 
ing, and  with  a  rapturous  smile  on  his  white  face. 
Then  he  lifted  his  head  high,  as  if  listening,  and  his 
arms  slackened  and  drew  away  from  Teresa  until  he 
was  holding  only  her  hands. 

"  Hush ! "  he  whispered,  and  his  hands  slowly  slid 
from  hers  as  he  waited.  Then,  "  Comin' !  comin' ! "  he 
shouted  out  upon  the  night,  and  he  turned  from 
her  and  hurried  up  the  cliff.  And  the  sea-pinks 
she  had  clutched  in  falling  were  left  in  his  tightening 
hold. 

Teresa  stood  there,  with  her  hands  loose  and  nerve- 
less at  her  sides,  and  she  wondered.  But,  as  the  sound 
of  the  stumbling  footsteps  grew  fainter,  some  of  the 
strength  which  the  night  had  stolen  came  back  to 
her,  and  she  gripped  her  hands  again  and  followed. 

As  the  grey  dawn  came  creeping  up  the  sky,  stealing 
the  brightness  from  the  stars,  up  at  the  Parsonage  a 
side  door  was  opened   slowly,   and  Agrimony   stepped 


A    SPANISH  MAID  259 

out  into  the  chilly  air.  She  had  been  sitting  on  the 
edge  of  her  bed  so  many  hours,  waiting.  Surely  now 
that  the  day  had  broken  through  the  night  she  might 
stir  about  and  learn  whether  or  not  her  fellow-creatures 
were  living  or  dead.  Right  or  wrong,  she  had  made 
up  her  mind,  and,  closing  the  door  cautiously  behind 
her,  she  left  the  garden  and  hurried  down  the  hill. 
If  the  parson  scolded  her  for  her  deed  she  could  bear 
it.  In  her  own  sight  the  errand  appeared  to  be  one  of 
mere  humanity. 

Upstairs,  in  Peter  Ludgven's  cottage,  the  dawn  was 
creeping  in  at  the  side  of  the  window  curtains  in 
'Zekiel's  room,  taking  all  the  radiance  from  the  lamp- 
flame,  turning  it  garish  and  impotent.  Ann  Vitty  had 
dropped  asleep  in  the  hard,  straight-backed  chair  by 
the  bed;  her  head  had  fallen  forward  on  her  breast; 
her  big-jointed,  toil-worn  hands  lay  slack  upon  her 
lap,  and  her  old  eyes,  weary  with  the  sight  of  pain 
and  the  wash  of  tears,  were  resting  at  last.  She  had 
watched  so  long.  With  one  thread  of  consciousness 
she  believed  that  she  was  watching  still.  But  her 
thoughts  had  glided  from  the  real  pains  to  the  dream 
pains,  and  she  slept. 

In  the  kitchen  below,  the  dawn  crept  in  unhindered, 
for  the  curtains  had  been  undrawn  all  night,  and  here 
there  was  no  lamp  flame  to  resist  it.     Even  the  peats 


26o  A   SPANISH  MAID 

on  the  hearth  were  burnt  out,  and  white,  and  cold. 
On  the  low  chair  before  the  ashes  Mary  was  still 
sitting,  crouched  over  the  baby  which  lay  upon  her 
lap,  and  she,  too,  had  fallen  asleep. 

Some  miles  away,  Peter  Ludgven,  with  a  set  face 
and  a  heavy  heart,  walked  along  the  cliffs  with  his 
eyes  turned  seawards — for  this  was  his  duty.  But 
here,  in  Landecarrock,  stillness  and  silence  were  on 
his  home,  sleep  and  death  filled  it ;  and  some  careless 
hand  had  left  the  cottage  door  open,  and  sleep  and 
death  seemed  to  steal  out  into  the  chilly  garden  and 
lie  there,  too. 

Two  figures  were  standing  at  the  garden  gate — Teresa 
and  Agrimony — and  their  eyes  travelled  from  the  open 
doorway  to  the  curtained  window  above  it,  but  they 
did  not  venture  nearer.  The  silence  which  hung  over 
the  house  seemed  to  bar  the  open  doorway,  and  they 
waited. 

Upstairs  in  the  cottage,  Ann  Vitty's  head  jerked 
forward;  she  stirred,  and  unconsciously  drew  her 
fingers  into  working  curves  again.  Then,  with  a  start, 
she  awoke,  feeling  guilty  and  amazed. 

"I  must  ha'  dozed  a  minute,"  she  muttered,  and 
she  turned  her  sleep-heavy  eyes  to  the  bed.  Everything 
was  still.  "  If  he'd  a-been  ravin'  I  couldn'  ha'  closed 
my  eyes,"  she  decided.     "He  must  ha'  been  sleepin' 


A   SPANISH  MAID  261 

sound."      And  she  rose  from  her  chair  to  bend  over 
the  patient. 

He  lay  on  his  back,  with  his  face  turned  to  the 
ceihng;  his  hands,  which  were  lying  outside  the 
coverlet,  were  clenched,  but  his  lips  were  laughing. 
Ann  Vitty  leaned  closer,  and  looked  long  at  him,  and 
her  brain  wakened  and  her  eyes  widened.  A  greyness 
spread  over  her  wrinkled  face  which  the  lamp-light 
could  not  hide  with  its  garish  shine,  and  after  a  minute 
she  trod  hurriedly  across  to  the  window  and  drew 
back  the  curtain.  Then  she  came  back  to  the  bed 
and  leaned  over  it  again,  laying  her  hand  against  the 
upturned  cheek,  and  then  she  shrieked  aloud  :  "  He's 
dead  !     He's  dead  !     'Zekiel  Myners  is  dead  ! " 

The  girls,  watching  in  the  garden  below,  saw  the 
curtain  drawn  back,  and  heard  the  shriek  clap  out  on 
the  silence.  And  Agrimony  caught  Teresa's  arm  as 
she  sprang  forward,  and  flung  her  back.  "  You  dare  !  " 
she  cried  in  her  pain.  And  Teresa  stood  aside, 
undetermined,  while  Agrimony  rushed  along  the 
garden  path  and  in  at  the  open  door. 

"  He's  dead !  He's  dead ! "  cried  Ann  Vitty,  as 
Agrimony  came  up  the  stairs.  "  Come  fore'  an'  look 
to  'en ;  I  couldn'  ha'  dozed  more'n  a  minute  or  so. 
I  couldn' — I  couldn'.  An'  I  woke  to  find  'en  cold 
an'  dead!" 


262  A   SPANISH  MAID 

Agrimony  hurried  to  the  bed  and  looked  at  the 
white  face,  but  quick,  great  tears  bUnded  her  eyes  and 
splashed  down  upon  the  sheet. 

"  Zekiel's  dead  ! "  she  sobbed.  "  Dead  an'  gone  ! 
Oh,  Ann  Vitty,  is  he  gone  for  ever?  Can't  we  do 
nothin'?"  She  wrung  her  hands.  "Let's  do 
somethin',"  she  pleaded.  "Let's  bring  'en  back. 
Tell  me,  Ann,  tell  me  what  to  do !  " 

Ann  Vitty  shook  her  head.  "He's  gone,  sure 
enough,"  she  said,  and  she  drew  her  apron  across 
her  eyes.  But  Agrimony  turned  in  desperation  and 
hurried  down  the  stairs  again. 

"  Mary  Ludgven,"  she  cried  to  the  sleeping  woman 
before  the  hearth,  "  'Zekiel's  dead  ! " 

Mary  raised  her  head  slowly  and  stared  at  her  with 
dazed  eyes. 

'"Zekiel's  dead!"  Agrimony  sobbed  again.  "Come 
up  an'  do  somethin'." 

But  Mary  only  shivered  ;  she  did  not  rise.  "  Dead  !  " 
she  said  slowly,  "they'm  all  dead.  Won't  he  never 
laugh  back  to  me  again  ?  " 

"Laugh!"  cried  Agrimony,  in  sudden  anger,  "he's 
dead  ! — he's  dead  ! "  And  wild  with  the  ache  of  inaction 
she  ran  out  at  the  open  door  again  and  along  the 
garden  path.  "You've  killed  'en,"  she  cried,  seizing 
Teresa's   arms   roughly.       "You've    killed    'en     dead! 


A  SPANISH/  MAID  263 

you    heathen    brute    beast !     You've    killed     'Zekiel  — 
dead ! " 

"  Killed  !     Dead  ! "  repeated  Teresa,  wondering. 

"  Yes ;  killed  ! — dead  ! — and  you've  a-done  it ! " 

For  answer  Teresa  threw  up  her  head  and  laughed, 
and  Agrimony  stiffened  with  anger.  She  clenched  her 
fi^j;  ,to  strike,  but  Teresa  drew  back  and  spoke. 
"  'Zekiel — not — dead,"  she  declared,  picking  her  words. 
"  We  have  sailed — 'Zekiel  and  me — in  a  ship  on  the 
sea — this  night,"  she  looked  up  and  waved  her  hand 
to  the  sky,  "with  the  moon." 

Agrimony  gasped.  '"Zekiel  an'  you,"  she  repeated. 
"  You  lie  !  'Zekiel's  been  ravin' ;  most  of  yesterday  he 
was  ravin' — dyin' ! " 

But  Teresa  laughed  again.  "He  was  there,"  she 
declared,  pointing  seawards.  "'Zekiel — and  me.  He 
took  my  hands.  I  was  his  beloved  !  Ah  ! — but  an  hour 
— a  minute — what  you  call — since  we  were  there  !  " 

For  a  moment  Agrimony  stared  and  panted  in 
wonder,  then  tales  she  had  heard  flashed  back  through 
her  brain,  and  springing  at  Teresa,  she  shrieked  aloud 
in  horror :  "  You'm  a  witch  !  "  she  cried.  "  You'm  a 
witch,  sure  enough !  An'  you've  stole  his  soul  so  well 
as  killed  his  body ! " 

Something  had  turned  Teresa  to  a  coward.  It  was 
not  the  rage  in  the  eyes  fronting  her,   nor  the  death 


264  A   SPANISH  MAID 

lying  the  other  side  of  that  open  door,  nor  the  chill 
of  the  dawn.  There  was  some  strange  power — some 
undefined,  awful  strength — closing  round  about  her, 
numbing  her  courage;  she  felt  the  grip  of  it,  and  all 
these  other  things  became  ghastly  and  terrible.  She 
quailed  now  before  Agrimony's  eyes ;  she  was  afraid 
of  her — of  everything — and  she  turned  and  ran  swiftly 
down  the  hill. 

But  Agrimony  was  swift,  too,  and  desperate.  It 
seemed  as  if  quick  action  must  ease  the  great  hope- 
lessness in  her  heart ;  and  at  the  corner  leading  down 
the  village  street  she  clutched  at  Teresa's  skirt  and 
brought  her  to  the  ground. 

"  If  you've  stolen  'en,  give  'en  back ! "  she  cried, 
"an'  I  won't  ask  nothin'  more  of  'ee."  Then  her 
voice  turned  to  fierce  pleading.  "  Give  'en  back,  maid  ! 
Give  'en  back,  co' ! " 

But  Teresa  had  grown  scared  and  trembling.  "  'Zekiel 
— he  is  not  dead,"  she  persisted.  '"Zekiel,  he  talk — 
sail — with  me — but  now — so  small  time  gone." 

From  a  cottage  near  by  sounded  the  click  of  a 
window  hasp,  then  a  casement  was  opened,  and  a 
head  leaned  out. 

"  Who's  it  ?  What's  amiss  ?  "  called  a  voice,  as  the 
eyes  belonging  to  it  caught  sight  of  the  two  girls. 

"'Zekiel  Myners  is  dead,"  cried  Agrimony,  "an' " 


A   SPANISH  MAID  265 

But  then  her  grief  caught  her  voice,  and  the  head 
was  drawn  back ;  and  Agrimony  turned  to  Teresa, 
hating  her. 

Within  a  few  moments  the  cottage  door  opened  and 
a  man  stepped  out. 

"  What's  the  maid  done  ?  "  he  asked. 
"  She's  a  witch  ! "  cried  Agrimony.  "  She  says  as 
'Zekiel  isn'  dead;  as  how  he's  been  a-sailin'  an'  a- 
talkin'  with  her;  an'  I  know  as  how  all  last  night  he 
was  dyin'.  Parson  Swayn  said  the  very  words,  an' 
Ann  Vitty's  been  sittin'  by  'en  all  through,  an'  I've 
seen  'en  with  my  own  eyes — dead !  " 

'"Zekiel— he  is  not  dead  ! "  repeated  Teresa,  shrinking. 
The  man  looked  from  one  maid  to  the  other,  and 
ran  his  fingers  through  his  hair.  And  then  all  down 
the  village  street  casements  were  thrown  back,  one 
after  another,  and  heads  were  hung  out  to  know  the 
reason  of  the  sharp  words  upon  the  stillness  of  the 
dawn.  And  Agrimony  cried  out  to  them  :  "  Here's  a 
witch — a  heathen  witch  ! — what's  been  sailin'  on  the  sea 
with  'Zekiel  Myners'  sperrit,  an'  he  lyin'  dead  'pon  his 
bed  the  while." 

And  the  heads  were  drawn  back ;  and  in  a  marvellous 
time  out  from  the  houses  of  mourning  and  houses  of 
death  stepped  figures  scantily  dressed,  men  and  women 
with  haggard  faces  and  sunken  eyes,  who  closed  round 


266  A   SPANISH  MAID 

about  the  two  maids  and  listened  to  Agrimony's  tale 
of  evil-doing. 

Teresa,  still  crouching  on  the  ground,  glinted  from 
face  to  face,  her  own  cheeks  drained  to  a  curious 
grey  pallor,  her  black  hair  falling  in  a  frame  on  either 
side  of  them,  her  eyes  wide  and  frightened. 

And  the  villagers  glared  at  her  as  they  listened. 
Trouble  and  pain  had  killed  their  fear  of  her  and  now 
stirred  them  only  to  rage. 

"From  the  day  she  come'd,"  declared  a  wife,  whose 
cottage  behind  her  stood  emptied  of  husband  and 
children,  "from  the  day  she  come'd  she've  brought 
nort  but  trubble  'pon  trubble." 

"She've  ill-wished  us  plain  enough,"  said  a  man 
with  a  pitiless  face.  "  Look  to  the  catches !  Look  to 
the  weather " 

"  An'  the  fire  ! "  burst  in  another  voice. 

"  An'  'Zekiel  Myners  !  An'  the  plague  ! "  wailed  a 
white-faced  woman  with  her  hand  against  her  heart. 
"  An' " 

But  Teresa  had  glanced  beyond  them  down  the 
steep  street,  and  there,  advancing  upon  her,  she  saw 
what  seemed  to  her  eyes  an  army  of  vengeance — men 
and  women  with  stern  lips  and  pitiless  eyes — and, 
heading  the  line,  with  silly  curses  rolling  off  his  tongue, 
came  Sam'le  Laskey. 


A   SPANISH  MAID  267 

With  a  shriek  of  terror  she  sprang  to  her  feet,  and, 
wrenching  herself  from  Agrimony's  hold,  darted  away 
from  them  along  the  old  road  by  the  fuchsia  bush 
towards  the  steep  cliff  hill. 

The  sight  of  her  flying  from  them  maddened  the 
villagers.  The  recollection  of  the  pains  they  had  borne 
chafed  in  their  brains ;  their  veins  ran  fire ;  ghastly 
sounds  of  rage  and  anguish  broke  from  them  ;  and 
with  one  unspoken  consent,  they  moved  forward  and 
followed  after  her.  And  in  the  midst  of  them,  hooting, 
and  threatening,  and  howling  vengeance,  ran  Sam'le 
Laskey,  and  in  his  gripped  hands  were  pebbles  from 
Landecarrock  beach. 

The  grey  of  the  dawn  was  passing ;  the  light  spread- 
ing over  the  land  showed  a  dull,  sunless  day ;  and  once 
more  the  mist  seemed  to  be  gathering  over  the 
sea;  and  the  girl  sped  on  up  the  hill  before  her 
pursuers. 

At  the  summit  she  turned,  and  the  foremost  among 
them  could  see  her  grey,  drawn  face  and  hunted  eyes, 
as  she  realised  their  merciless  hatred  of  her  and  their 
relentlessness.  For  one  moment  she  stood  there,  sway- 
ing, and  spread  her  arms  to  them  in  abject  terror,  then 
she  turned  with  a  cry  of  despair  towards  the  cliff's  face 
and  fled  down  the  narrow  path. 

As  she  went  out  of  their  sight  they  halted,  then  they 


268  A   SPANISH  MAID 

swerved  from  the  road  and  hurried  over  to  the  edge 
of  the  cUfif;  only  one  of  the  number  followed  after 
her  down  the  path,  and  that  one  was  Sam'le  Laskey. 

As  those  at  the  top  leaned  forward  to  watch  the 
hurrying  figure,  there  came  a  sharp  cry  from  the  fore- 
most line  of  them.  It  was  Agrimony's  cry,  and  she  was 
pointing  to  the  beach  below. 

"  Look  !  Look  !  "  Her  words  now  were  hoarse 
whispers.  '"Tis  'Zekiel's  boat!  There — there  on  the 
sand ! " 

The  men  and  women  strained  their  eyes  to  see. 

'"Tis  'Zekiel's  boat !"  they  gasped. 

"'Zekiel's,  sure  enough,"  said  one  man  slowly,  "an' 
who'sever  brought  'en  round  Landecarrock  point, 
'Zekiel  hisself  must  have  took  'en  from  the  shed,  for 
he  alwise  kept  his  own  key." 

"There's  been  devilment  abroad  this  night,  eff  never 
afore,"  declared  another  solemnly. 

And  Agrimony  buried  her  face  in  her  hands  and 
sobbed. 

"Look  to  her  now!"  cried  a  boy,  who  had  thrown 
himself  flat  on  the  turf  and  was  peering  over  the  edge. 
"That's  never  no  human  creature,  no  common  maid. 
'Tis  witch-work  what  she's  a-doin',  if  ever  there  was 
such." 

Teresa  had  reached  the  beach,  had  floundered  across 


A   SPANISH  MAID  269 

the  loose  shingle,  and  had  reached  the  boat  where  it 
lay,  now  some  way  up  from  the  water.  The  boat  was 
heavy,  but  the  strength  of  terror  lay  in  the  girl's  arms, 
and  in  a  frenzy  of  haste  she  clutched  the  bow-end,  and, 
bending  her  shoulders  to  the  work,  forced  it  some  way 
down  over  the  beach. 

"A  slip  of  a  maid  to  shift  that  lumberin'  boat,"  cried 
the  boy,  incredulous,  with  his  hand  outstretched. 
But  with  jerk  after  jerk  the  girl  forced  it  along, 
and  Sam'le  Laskey  stood  by  and  pelted  her  the  while. 

"  Ah  !  God  A'mighty !  " 

The  cry  broke  from  a  large,  half-dressed  woman,  who, 
in  the  excitement  of  the  scene,  had  edged  farther  and 
farther  along  the  cliff.  Now  she  came  running  back 
to  the  crowd  with  shaking  limbs  and  her  finger  pointed 
seawards,  and  all  eyes  left  the  "witch-work"  on  the 
beach  below  and  followed  the  direction  of  her 
hand. 

No  one  spoke  as  they  all  looked  and  saw  what  the 
woman  had  seen.  Some  of  the  men  drew  a  hissing 
breath  back  over  their  teeth,  and  some  of  the  women 
pressed  their  hands  to  their  throats  as  if  to  loosen  the 
words  which,  if  spoken,  might  relieve  them ;  the  boy 
on  the  turf,  too,  rose  to  his  knees;  but  no  eyes 
were  shifted  when  once  they  had  fallen  on  the 
sight. 


270 


A   SPANISH  MAID 


There,  to  the  right  of  them,  from  the  horizon  line, 
as  if  ghding  out  from  the  sky,  came  a  large,  dark  ship, 
square-rigged,  with  high,  black  bows,  running  swiftly 
through  the  still  air  as  if  driven  on  by  a  favouring 
wind.  The  mist  which  had  been  gathering  over  the 
sea  lifted  itself,  and  the  ship  showed  out  with  a 
marvellous  distinctness.  Masts,  sails,  cordage,  black 
as  pitch  against  the  dull  whiteness  of  the  sea  and 
sky,  seemed  to  press  upon  the  eyes  that  watched,  as 
she  drove  on  towards  Averack  Cove.  Then,  as  she 
came  nearer,  figures  could  be  seen  moving  about  her 
deck  and  handling  her  ropes ;  and  some  of  the  women 
on  the  cliff  shrieked  as  they  clapped  eyes  on  them,  but 
still  they  looked ;  and  the  men  on  the  cliff  stared  too, 
with  strained  eyes  set  in  bloodless  faces,  but  they  said 
never  a  word. 

A  howl  of  rage  from  the  beach  below  cut  through  the 
air,  and  the  men  and  women  caught  their  breath  and 
sighed,  as  if  waking  from  a  dream,  and  looking  down 
they  saw  Sam'le  Laskey  standing  at  the  water's  edge, 
with  his  right  arm  raised  to  hurl.  But  the  boat — 'Zekiel's 
boat — was  heaving  free  on  the  waves,  and  the  girl  was 
at  the  oars,  pulling  with  a  wild,  waving  stroke,  which 
set  the  boat  lurching  dangerously.  And  the  bow 
was  turning  seawards,  pointing  towards  the  black 
vessel. 


A   SPANISH  MAID  271 

The  crowd  on  the  cliff  was  trembling  and  dumb, 
turning  its  eyes  from  boat  to  ship,  from  ship  to  boat. 
It  was  as  if  a  drama  had  been  staged  upon  the  waters 
to  be  played  out  before  them.  The  witch-maid  in  her 
rolling  boat,  and  the  ghastly  crew  on  the  deck  of  the 
black  vessel,  seemed  to  belong  to  one  scene,  brought 
together  to  play  their  parts,  and  as  the  minutes  passed 
the  space  between  them  grew  narrower. 

Suddenly,  as  their  eyes  fell  back  upon  the  deck,  the 
villagers  saw  that  a  new  figure  was  standing  there — no 
small,  white-faced  horror,  such  as  those  who  steered 
the  evil  ship,  but  a  huge  man,  with  a  swarthy,  alert  face, 
wearing  a  picturesque  suit,  which,  even  at  a  distance, 
could  be  seen  to  be  of  rich  texture,  and  round  about 
his  waist  was  bound  a  bright,  fringed  sash.  As  they 
watched,  they  saw  him  step  forward  from  the  crew  and 
stand  at  the  bows,  with  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  unsteady 
boat  as  it  drew  nearer  and  nearer. 

"  The  devil  an'  his  crew ! "  murmured  one  of  the  men, 
in  a  hard,  expressionless  voice. 

"  Hush  ! "  whispered  the  kneeling  boy.     "  See  !  " 

As  the  dark  man  took  his  stand  at  the  bows  and 
looked  upon  the  boat,  the  girl,  with  her  back  turned  to 
him,  stopped  rowing  suddenly,  her  hands  dropped  to 
her  sides,  the  oar  blades,  drifting,  jerked  in  the  row- 
locks, and  the  mist  which  had  lifted  for  a  while  began 


272  A   SPANISH  MAID 

to  creep  down  again.  Spreading  her  hands  slowly,  as 
if  half-blind,  she  rose  from  the  seat,  and  turning  faced 
the  ship. 

The  crowd,  watching,  gripped  its  hands,  and  closed 
its  teeth  hard  behind  pressed  Hps,  for  the  drama  before 
them  began  to  savour  of  tragedy. 

For  one  long  moment  the  girl  in  the  boat  raised  her 
face  to  the  man  at  the  bows,  and  she  swayed  as  she 
stood. 

The  crowd  on  the  cliff  strained  its  eyes,  for  the 
denseness  was  increasing;  the  mist  was  lowering, 
thickening,  spreading  over  every  thing,  and  their 
strained  eyes  could  note  the  masts,  the  sails,  the 
cordage  fading  before  them.  A  grey  film  hung  about 
the  high,  black  sides,  about  'Zekiel's  boat,  about  the 
swaying  girl,  and  the  rigid  man.  Then,  through  it, 
they  saw  the  man  lean  forward  and  fling  out  his  arm, 
and  the  gesture  held  terrible  meaning.  Turning 
to  the  girl  they  saw  her  sway  back  as  if  the  out- 
flung  arm  had  struck  at  her  heart,  then  she  sprang 
quickly  to  the  edge  of  the  rocking  boat,  and  for  an 
instant  her  face,  just  a  blotch  of  pallor  through  the 
mist,  was  turned  towards  Averack  beach,  then  they 
saw  her  fling  up  her  arms  and  sway  forward  over  the 
sea. 

The  thick  mist  lay  close  down  upon  the  waters,  as  a 


A   SPANISH  MAID  273 

grey  wall,  fronting  the  faces  on  the  cliff.  The  men  and 
women,  with  their  eyes  straining  against  it  and  their 
ears  alert,  fancied  that  the  sound  of  a  splash  hissed 
back  to  them,  but  it  might  have  been  a  wave  breaking 
upon  the  beach  below ;  they  fancied  that  a  faint  cry 
shuddered  up  to  them,  but  it  might  have  been  the 
wail  of  a  distant  sea-bird. 

For  many  minutes  they  stood  in  absolute  stillness 
and  silence,  waiting.  But  the  mist  wall  fronting  them 
was  impenetrable.  The  black  ship  and  the  boat,  the 
threatening  man  and  the  witch-maid — all  the  horror  and 
the  evil,  were  shut  from  them. 

A  woman's  sob  broke  the  silence  at  last,  and  Agri- 
mony threw  herself  upon  the  turf,  face  downward,  and 
hid  her  eyes.  But  again  the  hush  and  the  stillness 
closed  over  them,  and  they  waited.  Only  Sam'le 
Laskey  on  the  beach  below  stood  at  the  water's  edge, 
hurling  pebbles  into  the  mist. 


Back  in  Peter  Ludgven's  cottage,  the  doctor,  on  his 
rounds,  climbed  the  stairs  to  'Zekiel  Myners'  room ; 
and  when  he  reached  it  he  leaned  long  over  the  bed 
as  he  listened  to  Ann  Vitty's  moanings.  At  length  he 
straightened  his  back  again,  and  spending  no  time  on 
comfort  or  blame,  stepped  to  the  wall  and  unhung  a 


274  A   SPANISH  MAID 

small  mirror  from  a  nail,  then  he  bent  over  the  bed 
again,  and  held  the  mirror  to  the  man's  white  lips. 
Then  silence  fell ;  Ann  Vitty  found  that  all  her  words 
had  been  said,  and  she  threw  her  apron  over  her  head 
and  wept  quietly. 

The  stillness  lasted  so  long  that  Ann  Vitty,  knowing 
the  doctor  to  be  a  man  of  many  duties,  at  length  drew 
her  apron  down  again  and  looked,  then  she,  too,  leaned 
over  the  bed  and  watched. 

Outside,  the  dense  mist,  which  had  lowered  and 
darkened  the  room,  was  melting  away  slowly,  and  the 
sun  shone  through.  One  bright  beam  striking  in  at 
the  window,  fell  athwart  the  bed,  and  the  doctor  drew 
the  mirror  quickly  from  over  'Zekiel's  lips,  and  held 
it  in  the  golden  shine,  and  the  surface  of  the  mirror 
was  dim. 

"  He  isn't  dead — yet,"  remarked  the  little  man  con- 
cisely. Then  he  lifted  one  clenched  hand  from  the 
coverlet  and  turned  it  over  in  his  own,  and  then 
he  straightened  the  rigid  fingers,  and,  with  a  puzzled 
look  on  his  face,  took  a  few  crushed  sea-pinks 
from  their  hold.  Then  he  laid  the  hand  back  again, 
and  turning,  saw  another  battered  flower  on  the 
floor. 

At  Averack  Cove,  the  men  and  women  watching  saw 
the  mist  roll  back  at  last,  and  the  sun,  struggling  through, 


A   SPANISH  MAID  275 

brightened  the  dull  sea  and  set  it  glittering.  But  of  the 
scene  which  the  denseness  had  shut  from  them,  there 
was  only  one  trace  left  on  the  waste  of  waters — 'Zekiel's 
boat,  heaving  with  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  waves — 
empty ! 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

''  I  "^HAT  year,  in  Landecarrock,  Spring  ran  swiftly 
■*•  forward  and,  with  a  gush  of  warm  tears  for  the 
sorrow  she  had  brought,  died  in  Summer's  tender  hold- 
ing; but  Summer,  when  her  turn  came  to  die,  was 
loth  to  go,  and  lingered,  looking  back  with  love  in 
her  eyes,  then  forward  with  a  flush  of  fear  upon  her 
cheeks,  till  Autumn,  law-abiding  even  in  his  sympathy, 
went  back  to  fetch  her,  but,  meeting  her,  held  her  in 
his  arms,  and  would  not  hasten  her.  And  the 
September  day  might  have  been  June,  as  Peter 
Ludgven  dug  his  spade  into  the  earth  by  his  garden 
gate,  to  loosen  a  bindweed  root  which  had  sent  up  an 
arm  to  clutch  a  trailing  woodbine  branch ;  and  Mary 
stood  at  her  door,  and  watched  him  with  far-away, 
sorrow-steeped  eyes,  the  hard  look  still  on  her  face 
which  had  lain  there  now  for  months,  and  her  hands 
loosely  clasped  before  her. 

Up  the  hill,  towards  the  cottage,  two  figures  were 

276 


A   SPANISH  MAID  277 

making  their  way  slowly.  And  one  was  tall  and  angular, 
with  a  long-skirted  grey  coat,  which  fluttered  out  now 
and  then  as  the  warm  breeze  caught  it ;  the  other 
figure  was  shorter  and  more  rounded,  and  wore  a 
loosely-tied,  hooded  cloak  of  pale  blue  cotton. 

"  And  to  this  day — it  is  a  curious  fact — the  northern 
side  of  a  churchyard  will  be  deserted,  while  that  which 
lies  south " 

The  parson's  voice  rose  and  fell  in  a  gentle  murmur 
as  he  took  his  slow  strides,  and  grasped  his  small 
hammer  in  one  hand,  and  his  little  tin  box  in  the 
other;  while  Miss  Ursula's  pretty  face  looked  up  at 
him  from  its  pale  blue  frame,  as  she  imbibed  the 
antiquarian's  lore  with  a  sweet  seriousness. 

"  And  the  custom  of  digging  the  graves  from  east  to 

west "     The  parson,  raising  his  head,  caught  sight 

of  Peter  at  the  gate.     "  Ah,  Ludgven  ! "  he  said,  "  good- 
day  to  you." 

"  Mornin',  passon." 

"  Gardening,  I  see." 

"  Yessir ;  a  bit  of  weedin'." 

"  Ah  ! — yes  ;  the  calystegia  sepium,  or  bindweed ;  order, 
convolvulaceae — a  troublesome  plant,  indeed,  and  most 
persistent.  The  present  victim  ?  I  see ;  I  see.  Lonicera 
Periclymenum,  or  honeysuckle — Caprifoliaceae  tribe." 

"  Yessir,"  agreed  Peter  politely. 


278  A   SPANISH  MAID 

"  A  glorious  day  ! "  remarked  the  parson  as  he  moved 
on  his  way.  "  My  grand-daughter  and  I  purpose  dimb- 
ing  the  hill  to  the  cairn,  by  the  right-hand  side  of  the 
barrow.  I  still  feel  much  doubt  as  to  its  origin. 
Perhaps  a  closer  examination  may  throw  some  more 
decided  light  upon  the  matter.  Ah,  those  Druids ! 
— those  Druids !  What  trouble  and  confusion  have 
they  not  wrought  for  honest  antiquarians  !  Good-day, 
Ludgven — good-day. " 

"  Good-day,  passon." 

"  Ah,  Mary !  good-day  to  you,"  he  added,  as  his  eyes 
travelled  along  the  path  and  saw  her  at  the  door.  "  I 
had  not  perceived  you." 

"  Good-day,  sir,"  answered  Mary  dully. 

"We  want,"  he  called  back,  with  a  kindly  smile, 
"  to  see  some  of  Peter's  roses  growing  in  your  cheeks 


again." 


When  he  had  passed  on  up  the  hill  Peter  turned 
and  looked  at  his  wife,  and  her  white  face  seemed 
to  strike  a  fresh  bruise  on  his  heart.  He  sighed  as  he 
leaned  to  grasp  his  spade  again ;  then  he  suddenly 
determined  something,  and,  leaving  the  spade  at  a 
slant  in  the  ground,  he  walked  down  the  path  to  the 
doorway. 

"  Mary,"  he  said  in  a  low  voice,  which  was  shaking, 
too,  "  you  heard  what  passon  did  say?" 


A   SPANISH  MAID  279 

She  looked  at  him  without  interest. 

"  I  heard — I  s'pose,"  she  answered  slowly. 

"  Can't  'ee — cheer  up,  dear  heart?  " 

"I'm  right  enough." 

He  felt  sick  with  the  hopelessness  of  things.  It  was 
so  baffling — this  new,  cold  nature  of  hers.  Then,  to 
Peter,  who  had  sorrowed  so  long  over  the  small  grave 
in  the  churchyard,  and  still  more  over  this  living,  daily 
grief,  it  suddenly  seemed  that  he  could  not  go  on  bear- 
ing it,  as  if  he  must  take  some  action  and  do  something 
to  break  it  away.  He  caught  her  arm,  and  his  voice 
shook  with  passion  and  appealing. 

"  Mary,"  he  cried,  "  don't  'ee  take  on  so  !  Be  as  you 
was  before  he  died  ;  cry  your  heart  out  over  the  trouble 
an'  let  me  comfort  'ee.  Co'  Mary;  don't  'ee  stan'  so 
still  and  quiet.      Ain't  I  nothin'  to  'ee  no  longer  ?  " 

"  You'm  hungry,  p'r'aps,"  she  said,  starting  half- 
pettishly.  "  Come  'long  in  an'  I'll  set  dinner."  A 
dull  ache  had  shot  through  her  heart  where  everything 
had  been  blank  and  numb  for  months,  and  the  stirring 
of  the  pain  frightened  her ;  she  dreaded  that  the  heart 
in  her  should  wake.     But  Peter  had  no  mercy  now. 

"  Mary  ! "  he  demanded,  pain  sounding  through  his 
cry,  "  tell  me,  ain't  I  nothin'  to  'ee  ?  Didn'  I  love 
'en,  too  ?  But  ain't  you  more  to  me  than  any  son — ain't 
I  more  to  you  ?  " 


28o  A   SPANISH  MAW 

She  did  not  speak  or  throw  off  his  hand,  but  she 
shivered  under  it  as  if  struck  by  an  ague,  and  her  eyes 
were  frightened.  She  turned,  and  his  hand  fell  from 
her  arm  as  she  walked  into  the  cottage,  and  something 
like  a  sob  tore  his  throat  as  he  went  back  to  his 
spade. 

•  As  that  day  wore  on  the  air  grew  sultry ;  the  land 
was  as  if  palpitating  under  the  glare  of  the  sun,  and  the 
sea  looked  brazen.  Butterflies  pitched  upon  chosen 
flowers  and  stayed  there,  with  their  wings  spread  wide 
to  the  heat ;  even  the  bees  became  loiterers  for  once  in 
their  life  of  hurry,  and  still  seemed  to  be  setting 
good  examples. 

It  was  evening-time  when  the  parson  and  Miss 
Ursula  came  down  the  hill  again,  and  Peter's  garden 
was  empty  as  they  passed,  but  a  faint,  hot  breeze  had 
sprung  to  life,  and  was  languidly  Hfting  the  leaves  of 
the  bushes,  showing  what  their  under  -  tints  were  like. 
Just  beyond  Ann  Vitty's  fuchsia  bush  they  overtook 
Master  Humphrey,  who  turned  and  looked  glad,  and 
all  three  climbed  the  cliff  hill  together. 

Master  Humphrey  was  somewhat  thinner  for  the 
tussle  he  had  had  with  death,  back  in  the  springtime, 
but  his  face  was  well  bronzed  by  summer's  sun,  and 
his  cheerfulness  had  come  back  to  him.  His  eyes  held 
laughs  in  them  as  he  drew  out  the  woollen  neckcloth 


A   SPANISH  MAID  281 

which  Dame  Tellam  still  thought  necessary  to  his  well- 
being,  and  which,  in  mercy  towards  her  fears,  he  took 
and  wore — in  his  pocket. 

"Whew  !  "  he  ejaculated,  as  he  looked  from  it  to  the 
coppery  sky. 

"You  will  come  with  us,  Humphrey?"  asked  the 
parson,  when  they  had  strolled  to  the  point  where  the 
paths  branched.  "  Ursula  shall  refresh  you  with  a  cup 
of  her  China  tea-drink." 

"Yes,  Humphrey,  for  Dame  Tellam's  sake,  let  me 
minister  to  your  fatigue." 

"For  my  own  sake  the  offer  seems  strong  enough," 
he  laughed,  and  there  lay  a  half-humble  tenderness  in 
his  eyes  and  voice.  Ursula,  looking  at  him,  laughed 
also ;  she  noted  the  cheerfulness,  but  she  did  not  heed 
the  tenderness. 

As  they  neared  the  churchyard  they  stood  awhile 
and  looked  over  the  low  wall.  The  green  tidiness  had 
been  sadly  scarred  since  the  first  day  of  Master 
Humphrey's  home-coming,  and  brown  mounds,  with  sun- 
shrunk  sods  of  turf  atop  of  them,  were  terribly  close 
and  many.  Over  in  a  corner,  by  the  big  yew  tree, 
under  which  Daniel  Laskey  had  been  used  to  eat 
his  dinner,  a  man's  figure  was  bending  beside  one  of 
these  mounds,  with  his  mouth  pressed  to  the  scorched 
turf. 


282  A   SPANISH  MAID 

"  Sam'le    Laskey    again ! "    said   Master   Humphrey, 
quietly.     "  Poor,  angry  fellow  ! " 

The  two  men  and  the  girl  stood  silent  for  a  time,  and 
looking  at  Sam'le,  remembered. 

"  She  was  very,  very  beautiful !  "  mused  Miss  Ursula 
aloud  at  last.     Then  silence  fell  again. 

"  Flowers  that  grow  out  of  place  are  classed  as  weeds," 
quoth  the  parson  slowly,  but  his  voice  was  kindly. 

Then  they  turned  away  and  walked  upwards  to  the 
Parsonage. 

When  the  tea  had  been  drunk,  and  Agrimony  had 
carried  away  the  cups,  the  parson  went  over  to  his 
table,  and,  taking  his  afternoon's  notes  from  his  pocket, 
fell  deep  in  comparisons  and  probabilities.  Ursula, 
rising  from  the  oak  chair  by  her  little  tea-table,  crossed 
to  a  window-seat  and  held  her  cheeks  forward  to  catch 
the  faint  breeze  through  the  open  casement.  Master 
Humphrey  rose,  too,  then  sat  beside  her. 

For  some  time  they  looked  out  over  the  garden  and 
the  sea  to  the  horizon,  and  neither  spoke. 

"  'Tis  drawing  on  for  a  year  since  I  came  home  to 
Pensallas,"  said  Master  Humphrey  at  length. 

"And  I,"  exclaimed  Miss  Ursula,  in  low -voiced 
delight,  "am  near  to  a  year  older."  She  lifted  her 
hands  and  pressed  them  palm  to  palm. 

Master  Humphrey  leaned  forward  and  took  one  of 


A   SPANISH  MA  ID  2S3 

the  upraised  little   hands  in  his.      "Tell  me,  Ursula," 
he  asked,  "  why  are  you  so  glad  ?  " 

"  A — h ! "  She  sighed  a  long,  long  sigh,  which 
meant  many  pleasant  things,  but  held  no  coquetry, 
and  she  let  her  hand  lie  in  his  clasp  without  a 
tremor. 

But  by-and-bye,  when  their  low  voices,  questioning, 
answering,  questioning,  answering,  had  asked  and  told 
of  countless  matters,  and  the  light  had  grown  quite 
dim,  and  the  parson  at  his  table  slumbered  over  his 
researches,  she  forgot  that  he  was  Master  Humphrey, 
the  squire — that  he  was  grown-up — that  he  was  he — 
forgot,  in  fact,  that  he  was  anybody,  for  the  size  of 
him  was  lost  in  the  dimness,  the  reality  of  him  was 
lost  in  her  imagination,  and,  with  her  hand  holding 
his  as  much  as  his  held  hers,  her  confidences  drifted 
on  as  easily,  as  artlessly,  as  if  she  were  but  thinking 
her  thoughts  aloud;  and  she  told  him  of  the  ways  of 
life  in  that  splendid  land  over  the  sea,  of  the  stories 
she  had  weaved,  of  the  dreams  she  dreamed,  and  the 
pictures  she  saw,  day  after  day,  and  month  after 
month,  here,  in  this  magic  room,  where  nothing  seemed 
impossible ;  and  her  voice  rose  and  fell  in  dreamy 
absorption. 

"And   then,   one  day,  the  prince  feels  in  his  heart 
that  he  can  wait  no  longer ;  he  must  leave  his  palace 


284  A   SPANJSH  MAID 

and  sail  the  whole  world  over,  if  needs  be,  but  he 
must  find  the  dream-maiden  or  he  will  never  be 
happy  again.  So  he  orders  a  ship  to  be  prepared — 
a  most  beautiful  ship,  hung  with  silken  hangings,  and 
decked  with  beautiful  flowers,  with  ribands  flying  from 
the  masthead,  and  scores  of  tiny  lamps  glittering 
like  jewels — and  he  sails  away  from  his  wonderful 
country " 

"  And  he  stands  on  his  deck,"  broke  in  Master 
Humphrey,  "and  he  scans  every  city,  and  hamlet, 
and  cliff,  and  meadow,  as  he  sails  by ;  and  he  lands 
and  walks  among  them  all,  and  seeks,  and  seeks,  and 
then  sails  on  again,  until  at  length  he  comes  to  a 
wild,  rocky  land — where  the  dwellings  of  the  people 
almost  touch  the  sea,  I  think — and  then  some  voice 
in  his  heart  tells  him  that  he  is  drawing  nearer  to 
his  dream-maiden " 

"  Oh,  Humphrey  !  how  did  you  know? " 

"And  as  he  draws  near  to  the  land,  he  cries  to  his 
men,  'Steer  for  the  high  cliff  yonder,  for  she  whom 
I  seek  dwells  there.' " 

There  was  a  tremor  in  Miss  Ursula's  little  hand  now, 
for  the  story  told  by  another  tongue  was  most  enthralling. 

"And  there,"  went  on  Master  Humphrey,  "there, 
sure  enough,  he  finds  her  in  the  old  castle  on  the  cliff, 
waiting  for  him.     And  when  he  draws  near  she  knows 


A   SPANISH  MAID  285 

him  and  he  knows  her."  It  is  Master  Humphrey's 
voice  which  trembles  a  Httle  now.  "And  he  holds 
his  arms  to  her,  and  she  goes  to  him,  and  is  folded 
to  his  heart,  and — and — well,  of  course,  they  are 
happy  ever  after." 

When  this  tale  is  told,  they  sit  in  silence  for  a 
little  while  looking  out  into  the  dark,  breathless  night, 
where  the  sky  seems  to  be  pressing  down  upon 
the  earth,  and  the  earth  to  be  panting  under  the 
weight  of  it. 

"  She  would  have  wedded  no  —  other  man,  I 
suppose — this  dream-maiden  ?  No  commonplace,  week- 
a-day  man  would  have  done?" 

"Oh,  no,  Humphrey;  how  could  she,  when  she 
was  waiting  for  the  prince?" 

"  No  '  Squire  of  Pensallas,'  for  instance,  would  have 
had  any  chance  ?  " 

"You  see,  she  would  not  be  his  dream-maiden." 

"  She  might  have  been." 

Miss  Ursula  pondered. 

"Of  course,"  she  said,  illuminated  by  a  sudden 
thought,  "a  'Squire  of  Pensallas'  would  be  a  sort  of 
a  prince,  too,  in  his  way;  and  if  he  dreamed  of  a 
maiden,  and  loved  her  in  the  dreams  as  the  prince 
did,  he  could  sail  away  to  find  her — ^just  the  same — 
I  suppose." 


286  A  SPANISH  MAID 

"  I  suppose  he  could,"  agreed  Master  Humphrey. 

Then  Agrimony  brought  in  candles  and  lighted 
the  hanging  lamp,  bringing  an  atmosphere  of  bustling 
cheerfulness  with  her,  setting  the  walls  a-glistening, 
and  rousing  the  parson.  Master  Humphrey  rose 
from  the  window-seat. 

"  Dame  Tellam's  heart  will  be  palpitating  two  beats 
to  one  if  I  do  not  gladden  her  eyes  soon,"  he  laughed. 
And  with  a  cheerful  "good-night,"  he  left  the  parson's 
room  and  went  out  into  the  darkness  as  the  first  big 
splashes  of  thunder-rain  were  striking  the  fainting  land. 
Miss  Ursula  listened  to  his  footsteps  dying  away  in 
the  distance,  then  she  turned  her  face  from  the  window 
to  the  lighted  room. 

"  'Tis  making  for  a  storm,  I  fear,"  she  remarked 
to  the  parson,  and  her  little  face  grew  rather  anxious. 
"  I  trust  that  Humphrey  will  escape  it." 

Outside,  with  one  gust  from  across  the  sea,  the 
breeze  stiffened  to  a  wind  which  rushed  over  the  land, 
leaving  the  higher  air  still  and  oppressive;  and  the 
big  rain-drops  quickened,  then  fell  in  a  drenching 
torrent,  filling  the  air  with  a  sharp  "  swish."  Footsteps 
sounded  on  Master  Humphrey's  ears  as  he  bent  his 
head  to  the  storm,  and  "  Good-night,  sir,"  came  a 
voice  through  the  wind  and  downpour. 


•A  SPANISH  MAID  287 

"  You,  Ludgven  !     Good-night.     Rough  work  for  you 
this  time,"  he  called  back. 

"  Ay,  sir,  'twill  be  a  wet  skin,  anyhow." 
Then  each  passed  on  his  way,  and  a  flash  of  light 
across  the  sky  showed  their  bending  figures  as  they 
battled  on.  Then  a  quick  crash  of  thunder  boomed  and 
rattled  across  the  sky,  and  the  storm  had  begun  in 
earnest. 

Home  in  Peter  Ludgven's  cottage  Mary  sat  by  her 
uncurtained  window,  with  her  face  turned  to  the  raging 
night,  and  as  she  watched  the  sky  flashing  into  light, 
and  heard  the  thunder  crashing,  as  if  upon  the  very 
rafters  over  her  head,  each  flash  and  each  peal 
scorched  and  beat  down  the  dead  wall  which  had 
lain  round  about  her  heart,  and  she  felt  the  pain 
stirring,  then  throbbing  quicker,  then  pulsing  in  her 
with  all  the  pent-up  force  of  the  past  miserable 
year. 

For  some  time  she  sat  on,  still  and  quiet,  making 
no  sign  of  the  pain  she  was  bearing,  but,  as  it  grew 
keener,  the  remembrance  of  that  last  September  night 
came  back  to  her,  and  she  moaned  and  pressed  her 
hands  together;  and  then,  turning  her  head,  her  eyes, 
with  quick  instinct,  looked  down  on  the  spot  where 
the  cradle  had  stood  then,  close  to  her  foot.  The 
cradle  was  still  and  empty  in  the  corner  now. 


288  A  SPANISH  MAID 

"  A — h,  my  God  ! "  she  cried  out  sharply  through 
set  teeth.  And  she  rose  and  paced  quickly  to  and 
fro.  The  emptiness  in  her  heart  was  maddening  her 
for  the  time,  and  the  sight  of  the  Httle  grave  which 
rose  before  her  eyes,  out  in  the  night  and  the  lash  of 
the  storm,  turned  her  sick  and  desperate  with  an 
agony  of  impotence  and  desolation.  Her  longing  was 
goading  her;  her  love  was  torturing  her;  her  little 
kitchen  was  as  a  hell,  its  closed  door  shutting  out 
hope. 

In  time  the  sight  of  that  closed  door  grew  un- 
bearable, and  she  flung  it  open  to  the  storm,  and 
stood  outside  it  in  the  wind  and  the  rain,  and  the 
flashing  and  the  roaring.  And  by-and-bye,  the  cool 
lash  of  the  drops  upon  her  head  seemed  to  clear  the 
sudden  madness  from  her  brain,  and  by  degrees  the 
picture  of  the  small  storm-swept  grave  faded  from 
before  her  eyes,  and  straining  them  through  the  night, 
she  thought  of  Peter. 

"Peter,"  she  said  aloud,  and  quite  calmly,  "I  want 
'ee."  But  the  words  were  caught  from  her  mouth  and 
tossed  high  in  the  hurricane. 

She  left  the  door-stone  then,  and  beat  her  way 
slowly  along  the  garden  path.  When  she  reached  the 
gate  she  battled  back  to  the  doorway,  then  hesitated, 
and  struggled  to  the  gate  again. 


A   SPANISH  MAID  289 

When  she  had  strained  her  eyes  down  the  hill  for 
a  while  in  the  flashes  of  the  lightning,  she  opened  the 
gate  and  went  through,  then  turned  her  face  down- 
wards and  walked  till  she  reached  Ann  Vitty's 
corner. 

And  all  through  the  night  she  went  backwards  and 
forwards  in  the  cut  of  the  wind  and  the  lash  of  the 
rain,  but  each  battle  forward  was  longer  than  the 
battle  back  again.  And  so  the  hours  passed;  and 
towards  the  dawning  the  storm  was  passing  also,  the 
thunder  was  hushed,  the  downpour  was  but  a  gentle 
rain  driving  in  from  the  sea,  and  the  wind's  passion 
was  dying,  sobbing  itself  away,  as  a  naughty  child 
sobs  with  smothered  face  when  all  the  anger  has 
gone  by. 

As  Peter  strode  back  over  the  cliff,  drenched  by 
the  rain  and  ruddy  with  the  gale,  he  saw  a  woman 
hurrying  towards  him  with  bare  head  and  a  white, 
smiling  face.  As  she  came  closer  she  spread  her 
hands  to  him,  and  then  he,  too,  hurried,  and  catch- 
ing the  outspread  hands,  held  them  tightly,  and  stood 
amazed. 

"  Why,  Mary — dear  heart  alive  ! " 

"I've    been    wantin'    of  'ee,    Peter,"    she    answered 

trembling,  and  then  she   pressed   her   face  to  his  wet 

coat. 

T 


290  A   SPANISH  MAID 

So  he  held  her  for  a  minute,  and  knew  it  to  be 
truth,  and  was  silent  in  the  amazement  and  the  joy 
of  it.     Then  he  roused  her  tenderly. 

"  Come,  my  dear,  come  home  to  the  warmth  an' 
the  dryth  or  you'll  be  gettin'  your  death  of  cold ; 
an'  how'd  that  be  for  me?" 

So  she  raised  her  head  and  turned  her  white 
face  homewards,  and  with  Peter's  arm  still  about 
her  they  went  slowly  down  the  hill. 

Her  black  gown  was  soaked;  her  white  apron  hung 
limp  from  her  waist.  Her  golden  hair  lay  drenched, 
and  blown  in  loose  strands  and  tendrils  about  her 
face  and  neck ;  and  the  'kerchief  about  her  bare  throat 
was  heavy  with  the  rain.  But  her  eyes  were  happy, 
and  Peter's  heart  was  near  to  bursting  with  his 
resurgent  gladness. 

It  had,  indeed,  been  a  furious  storm,  and  Master 
Humphrey  must  have  felt  some  of  the  fury  of  it  as 
he  walked  back  to  Pensallas  that  night ;  but  to  Miss 
Ursula  that  seemed  no  good  reason  why  he  should 
not  venture  up  the  Parsonage  hill  again.  The  friend- 
ship between  the  Parsonage  and  Pensallas  had  been 
too  intimate  to  need,  or  allow  of,  formal  visits,  but  on 
most  days  there  had  been  some  meeting,  chance  or 
otherwise,  between  the  squire  and  the   parson   or   his 


A  SPANISH  MAID  291 

household.     Now  a  week  had  passed  by  and  Master 
Humphrey  had  not  come. 

The  parson,  being  particularly  occupied  just  then 
by  a  doubt  as  to  the  date  of  the  north  transept  of 
his  church,  was  both  absorbed  and  home-keeping, 
and  Miss  Ursula  after  one  remark  anent  the  squire's 
absence,  felt  suddenly  disinclined  to  take  note  of  it 
again. 

"  If  he  had  fallen  sick  from  the  exposure  to  the 
rain,  tidings  would  have  reached  us,  for  sure,"  she 
decided.  The  decision  somewhat  relieved  her  anxiety 
but  left  her  yet  more  puzzled,  and  though  she  took 
her  way  as  usual  in  the  village  and  the  country  round, 
she  heard  no  mention  of  Master  Humphrey,  nor  would 
she  enquire. 

Agrimony  noted  Master  Humphrey's  absence;  she 
also  noted  Miss  Ursula's  pretty  face  changing,  as  the 
days  went  by,  from  puzzled  anxiety  to  troubled  unrest ; 
but,  indeed,  there  was  little  that  Agrimony  did  not 
note  with  those  quick,  dark  eyes  of  hers,  and  for  many 
days  when  she  was  away  from  her  small  mistress's 
presence,  and  alone,  she  laughed  merrily  to  herself 
over  the  matter,  for  she  found  such  signs  amusing. 
But  when  a  week  had  passed  Agrimony  stopped 
laughing — the  amusement  had  staled  somewhat — and, 
instead,    she   put   on  her  hat   and   strolled   down   into 


292 


A  SPAAUSH  MAID 


the  village  with  languid  lids  and  eyes  carefully  care- 
less of  all  details  of  life  as  she  went,  seeming  as  if 
distant  views  and  Landecarrock  as  a  whole,  were  the 
only  sights  she  desired. 

There  was,  indeed,  little  to  be  seen  that  morning 
but  view,  and  little  to  be  heard,  for  the  village  was 
very  quiet  and  still.  As  she  passed  along  by  Lande- 
carrock beach,  however,  she  saw  'Zekiel  Myners  down 
by  the  boat-sheds,  occupied  in  running  out  his  boat,  and 
she  seemed  to  like  the  sight,  for  her  eyes  grew  less 
careless  and  more  smiling. 

"  'Zekiel ! "  she  called.     "  'Zekiel  Myners  ! " 

'Zekiel  looked  up,  and  he  also  seemed  pleased  with 
circumstance,  for  his  sun-browned  face  took  on  a  ruddier 
shade  and  his  eyes  brightened. 

"  Hullo  ! "  he  called.     "  How'm  'ee  gettin'  along  ?  " 

Then  Agrimony  answered  with  some  sounds  which 
may  have  been  words  when  they  left  her  tongue,  but 
certainly  were  not  such  beyond  her  lips,  and  which, 
at  any  rate,  had  the  effect  of  drawing  'Zekiel  from  his 
boat  to  her  side  to  learn  their  import. 

"  How  quiet-like  all  the  place  is  this  morning,"  she 
said. 

"  Most  have  gone  round  the  point  mackerel  fish- 
in',"   he   explained.     "The  very  fish   take   autumn    for 


summer." 


A  SPANISH  MAID  293 

"An'  you've  a-been  wavin'  good-bye  to  'em,  I 
s'pose  ?  " 

"  No ;  I'm  just  about  off;  my  lines  hindered  me." 

"  An'  which  of  'ee's  got  the  squire  aboard  to-day  ?  " 

"  Nuther  of  us.  Squire's  gone  away — went  off  some 
days  back." 

"Aw,  yes,  to  be  sure.     I  wasn'  thinkin'." 

Agrimony  spoke  unblushingly,  but  having  gained  a 
fact  she  moved  to  go.  'Zekiel  stepped  forward  as  she 
stepped  back. 

"Won't  'ee — won't  'ee  come  for  a  breath  of  sea?" 
he  pleaded  persuasively. 

"  Law,  to  think  of  such  a  thing !  A  busy  maid  like 
me  !     An'  all  among  the  mackerel,  too  ! "  she  added. 

"  I  wouldn'  so  much  as  catch  a  single  livin'  one ! " 
he  declared. 

"  That  ain't  no  hard  matter  at  any  time ! "  she 
retorted. 

"  Come,  Agrimony,"  he  pleaded  again. 

She  narrowed  her  lids  at  the  dazzle  of  the  sea  as 
she  looked  out  to  it,  smiling,  but  she  was  shaking  her 
head  the  while. 

"  Agrimony,"  'Zekiel  said  softly, 

"  'Zekiel,"  she  answered  half-mimicking,  yet  softly,  too. 

"  Agrimony,  what's  fish  to  me  ?  " 

"They'm  a  brave  bit  to  me,"  she  laughed,  stepping 


294  ^  SPANISH  MAID 

back  and  shaking  her  curly  head.     "  I  must  be  hurryin', 
'Zekiel  Myners ;  I'll  see  'ee  again  some  time." 

She  went  back  to  the  Parsonage  with  her  shred  of 
news,  and  'Zekiel  went  back  to  his  boat  and  spent 
the  day  in  doing  his  duty,  but  to  have  neglected  it 
would  have  been  more  to  his  taste. 

When  Agrimony,  amongst  other  items  of  interest, 
casually  mentioned  Master  Humphrey's  departing,  Miss 
Ursula  heard  her  with  surprise. 

"  How  much  unlike  Master  Humphrey  to  go  without 
bidding  us  '  good-bye,' "  was  all  she  said,  but  she 
thought  of  the  matter  quite  often,  and  wondered.  And 
as  she  wondered  a  recollection  came  to  her.  She  had 
told  him  that  if  a  "  Squire  of  Pensallas  "  had  dreams  of 
a  maid,  and  loved  her  in  his  dreams,  he  could  do  as 
the  prince  would  do,  and  go  to  seek  her.  Perhaps — 
Master  Humphrey 

Miss  Ursula  pondered.  She  had  found  an  explana- 
tion ;  it  straightened  out  the  puzzle.  She  had  often 
heard  persons  say  it  would  be  for  the  best — and  yet — 
Miss  Ursula  did  not  like  the  explanation. 

The  day  grew  to  a  most  beautiful  evening.  Master 
Humphrey  would,  like  enough,  have  needed  her  to 
"  sail  to  the  sunset  "  with  him  had  he  been  at  home, 
as  he  had  so  often  done  before.  And  when  tea  had  been 
drunk,  and  Miss  Ursula  sat   idle   on  the  window-seat 


A   SPANISH  MAID  295 

in  the  parson's  room,  it  was  but  natural  that  she  should 
be  thinking  of  him  as  she  looked  up  to  the  sky,  stretch- 
ing away,  all  splendour,  till  it  touched  the  sea. 

The  sun  was  not  niggardly  on  this  evening ;  it  did 
not  limit  itself  to  the  brightening  of  just  one  patch  on 
the  under  side  of  Heaven.  The  whole  stretch  of  it  was 
golden,  and  glowing,  and  glorious,  with  jasper  seas 
lapping  on  glistening  sands. 

And  then  the  gold  took  a  deeper  tint — red-gold  it 
was — rising  in  wonderful  burnished  cliffs  and  crags  about 
wonderful  purple  seas.  Magic  seas  of  a  magic  land, 
stretching  away  and  away,  infinite,  boundless — a  land 
all  silence  and  solitude,  with  never  a  voice  or  a  wave 
to  break  the  deep  hush. 

Then  the  cliffs  and  the  crags  were  no  longer  red- 
gold;  they  were  a  flaming  orange,  stretching  out  into 
crimson  waters — fiery  seas  on  a  fire-edged  shore.  The 
sun  had  set  the  magic  world  afire,  and  the  glow  of  it 
touched  everything. 

Then  slowly,  very  slowly,  the  fierceness  grew  more 
dim.  As  the  moments  passed  the  glow  died  out,  the 
shores  faded  from  their  flame-tints  to  a  tawny  softness. 
The  fiery  seas  lay  out  in  tender  amethyst,  and  a  faint 
mist  came  before  the  eyes  looking  up  from  earth  to 
that  under  side  of  Heaven. 

Miss  Ursula's  dreamy  gaze  was  fixed  upon  the  sky 


296  A  SPANISH  MAID 

till  all  the  glory  had  passed  into  greyness,  and  in  the 
greyness  a  star  or  two ;  then  she  drew  her  eyes  to  earth, 
and  saw  that  night  was  falling.  But  as  they  rested  on 
the  horizon  it  seemed  that  the  stars  had  fallen  also — 
many  stars,  from  the  greyness  above  to  the  greyness 
below — and  Miss  Ursula's  heart  beat  fast,  and  she  held 
her  breath ;  and,  at  last,  doubting  her  sight,  she 
rubbed  her  lids,  thinking  the  stars  were  pictured  on 
her  eyes.  They  were  not  stars  when  she  looked  again, 
the  strange  bright  thing  was  closer  now,  and  she  could 
see  that  it  was  a  ship — a  wonderful  little  ship — sailing 
in  from  the  horizon,  edged  with  light,  brilliant  from 
stem  to  stern,  gleaming  from  every  point,  with  scores 
of  lights  shining  from  ropes,  and  sails,  and  masthead. 
Miss  Ursula  pressed  her  hands  tightly  together  and 
murmured  two  words :  "  The  prince  !  the  prince  ! "  She 
said  over  and  over  again  beneath  her  breath,  "The 
prince  !  the  prince  ! "  In  her  tumult  of  excitement 
she  knelt  upon  the  window-seat  and  leaned  out  of 
the  casement  to  watch  the  lovely  thing  as  it  drew 
towards  shore.  Truly  it  was  a  ship  from  fairy- 
land !  At  length  the  garden  hedge  shut  it  from  her 
sight,  and  all  was  darkness  from  tamarisk  bush  to 
the  horizon. 

With  a  deep  sigh  of  ecstasy  she  turned  to  the  room ; 
that  also  was  dark,  for  the  parson  had  not  come  back 


A   SPANISH  MAID  297 

from  his  north  transept.  Then  Miss  Ursula  felt  that 
she  could  not  speak  of  this  strange,  beautiful  thing  to 
any  one,  and  she  stole  to  her  own  little  room,  and  lay 
there  in  her  bed  looking  into  the  darkness  with  shining 
eyes.  "  The  prince  !  the  prince  !  "  she  whispered.  But 
when  at  length  she  slept  it  was  of  Master  Humphrey 
she  dreamed. 

When  the  sun  rose  next  morning  it  seemed  to  be  his 
will  that  Miss  Ursula  should  rise  also,  for  he  shone 
in  at  her  window  with  such  a  blaze  that  his  glory 
entered  the  glory  of  her  dreams,  and  the  double  bright- 
ness awoke  her.  Her  thoughts  flew,  quick  as  shot 
arrows,  to  the  wonderful  ship  which  had  shone  out  of 
the  twilight.  "  And  was  that  a  dream,  too  ?  "  she  asked 
the  sun,  but  she  sprang  from  her  bed  without  waiting 
for  his  reply,  and  looked  across  the  metal-white 
water.  What  she  saw  lying  there  on  the  shining  sea, 
just  beyond  the  line  of  the  tamarisk  hedge,  quickly 
sorted  dream  from  truth.  It  was  a  ship  —  a  little 
fairy  ship — light,  snowy-sailed,  graceful,  decked  with 
flowers  from  stem  to  stern,  with  silken  ribbons  floating 
languidly  from  her  masthead,  and  silken  hangings  about 
her  deck. 

Miss  Ursula  dressed  quickly,  with  shaking  fingers, 
but  she  looked  for  quite  a  long  minute  in  her  mirror 
when   it   was   done,    and   hoped   her   soft,  white    frock 


298  A   SPANISH  MAID 

became  her  well.  Then  the  demure  little  lady  went 
softly  down  the  stairs,  and  stepped  as  quietly  out  of 
the  house  as  Agrimony  had  done  when  starting  on  her 
"  errand  of  humanity  "  that  morning  in  the  springtime. 

The  prince  was  coming !  It  was  as  she  had  always 
known  it  would  be.  She  was  going  towards  him,  and 
she  felt  him  to  be  drawing  nearer  and  nearer.  Without 
a  second  thought  or  a  backward  glance  she  made 
her  way  to  the  edge  of  the  cliff,  where  the  path  led 
down  to  Averack  Cove,  and  then  she  stood  and  looked 
full  upon  the  ship,  and  waited.  It  was  very  beautiful, 
that  little  fairy  ship,  outlined  with  flowers  and 
hung  wuth  silk.  She  could  see  the  lilies  and  roses 
that  were  wreathed  about  it,  and  fancied  the  scent 
of  them  was  wafted  up  to  her. 

"  Ursula  ! "     She  turned  to  the  voice. 

"  Humphrey  ! "  she  cried.  His  eyes  were  shining,  and 
a  white  rose  was  in  his  coat.  She  looked  at  him  with 
puzzled  eyes.  "Humphrey ! "  she  cried  again,  and  pointed 
to  the  ship.     "  Look  !  the  prince  ! " 

But  instead  of  looking  seaward  he  looked  into  her 
eyes.  "  Ursula  ! "  he  said  again,  and  then  he  held  his 
arms  to  her. 

And  then,  quite  suddenly,  she  understood  his  heart 
and  hers,  and  knew  where  fairyland  lay. 


.      A  SPANISH  MAID  299 

"To  live  in  this  world  one  needs — not  to  speak  of 
other  virtues — discretion  and  a  fine  forgiveness." 

As  he  finished  speaking  the  parson  turned  from 
Agrimony,  and  waved  his  hands  towards  a  sturdy 
figure  mending  a  net  upon  Averack  beach.  The 
parson  had  been  on  his  way  to  the  village,  Agrimony 
on  her  way  home,  when  they  met  on  the  cliff  hill  and 
caught  sight  of  the  stooping  figure  below.  Then  the 
parson  spoke,  and  waved  his  hand  towards  the 
beach,  showing  even  more  insight  into  human  nature 
by  the  gesture  than  by  the  words.  Then  he  went 
upon  his  way,  and  Agrimony  stood  very  still  where  he 
had  left  her. 

In  a  few  minutes,  however,  instead  of  taking  the 
Parsonage  hill,  she  walked  on  by  the  cliff  till  she 
reached  the  pathway.  Then  she  trod  down  it  lightly 
and  stood  upon  the  beach. 

"  Fine  mornin',  'Zekiel ! "  she  called.  He  straightened 
his  back  as  if  her  voice  had  touched  a  spring  in  it, 
then  he  dropped  his  net,  as  if  to  smile  upon  her  he 
must,  forsooth,  have  empty  hands. 

"Ha,  Agrimony!"  he  answered,  and  he  moved 
towards  her. 

"  Don't  'ee  drop  your  work,"  she  commanded ;  "  I 
wouldn'  have  any  man  alive  turn  his  eyes  from  duty 
for  the  likes  of  me." 


.  300  A   SPANISH  MAID 

"  You  witch — you  !  "  he  exclaimed,  and  his  eyes  were 
glad. 

"  I'm  a  witch,  right  enough,  this  mornin'.  I'm  feelin' 
— well — like  as  if  I  could  bring  'ee  any  mortal  thing 
you  was  to  choose  to  ask." 

For  a  moment  'Zekiel  was  dumb — but  eager  withal. 

"Well,  poor  human  creature,"  she  demanded  in 
mock  solemnity,  "can  'ee  tell  me  no  desire  of  your 
heart?" 

"  Agrimony,"  he  breathed  quickly,  "  you  know  ! " 

For  a  moment  she  looked  puzzled,  feigning  ignorance, 
then  she  laughed. 

"  I  b'leeve  I  do,"  she  said.  Then  her  dancing  eyes 
dropped  quite  shyly. 

'Zekiel  was  ever  a  lad  of  action ;  he  wasted  no  time ; 
he  just  clipped  her  hands  and  kissed  her. 

When,  after  a  rather  prolonged  pause,  'Zekiel 
gathered  up  his  net  there  was  a  big  tangle  in  it,  and 
Agrimony  laughed  out  at  him,  rippling  her  voice  and 
bobbing  her  short,  dark  curls.  At  the  sound  of  that 
laugh  the  happiness  died  from  'Zekiel's  face,  a  sudden 
hunted  look  crept  into  his  eyes,  and  he  stood  and  gazed 
at  her  as  if  listening  to  some  sound  far  away. 

When,  surprised  at  the  silence  which  followed, 
Agrimony  lifted  her  face  from  her  hands  and  looked 
at  her  lover  the  look  on  his  face  startled  her. 


A   SPANISH  MAID  301 

"You've  —  a-laughed  that  way  —  before,"  he  said 
slowly  at  last,  and  he  knitted  his  brows.  Then  suddenly 
the  blood  rushed  to  his  face.  "  'Twas  a  dream — an' — 
an',"  he  pointed  to  the  desolate  beach,  "there  was  a 
ship — a  maid !  "  Then  his  voice  became  a  cry.  "  No  ; 
'twasn'  no  dream !  Agrimony,  Agrimony !  Is  it 
this  as  is  the  dream? — all  a  dream — naught  but  a 
dream  ?  " 

"  No,  no,  dear  heart ! "  she  cried,  throwing  her  firm 
arms  round  about  his  neck,  and  laughing  up  into  his 
pain-stricken  eyes.  "That  was  the  dream;  you  was 
ill,  an'  wanderin'.  This  is  what's  real ! "  And  she  drew 
his  cheek  to  hers. 

"  I  was — ill — an'  wanderin',"  he  repeated  dazedly, 
"ill — an'  wanderin'."  Then  he  drew  a  long,  deep 
breath.  "This  is  what's  real,"  he  echoed  slowly,  and 
he  held  the  reality  close  to  his  heart,  then  smiled 
and  kissed  her  with  a  gratitude  which  was  almost 
solemn. 

And  the  storms  beat  on,  and  the  sun  still  shone 
upon  Landecarrock  and  its  folks.  At  Pensallas  Mistress 
Ursula  Harle  poured  her  China  tea-drink  from  a  massive 
silver  pot  into  teacups  of  less  childish  size  than  those 
she  had  been  wont  to  use  at  the  old  Parsonage,  and 
her  dainty  frocks   and  hooded  cloaks  were   made  of 


302  A   SPANISH  MAID 

richer  stuffs,  but  her  pretty  ways  did  not  change  with 
her  name,  and  Dame  Tellam  beamed  approval. 

In  the  coastguard's  cottage  Mary  Ludgven's  face 
was  calm  as  she  bent  over  her  second  son,  and  her 
smiles  were  placid  as  she  looked  upon  'Zekiel's  wife. 
In  the  churchyard,  too,  the  graves  grew  green  with 
time  and  the  number  of  them  increased  but  slowly. 
Landecarrock  was  striving  to  forget  the  time  of  its 
visitation.  Only  now  and  again  when  a  villager  grew 
garrulous  in  Peter  Ludgven's  hearing,  and  told  of  those 
months,  and  framed  the  name  "Teresa,"  the  good 
creature  would  knit  his  brow  and  plead :  "  I'd  as  lief 
you  didn'  name  it,  my  dear  soul.  I'd  as  Hef  you  let 
the  matter  'bide." 

And  so  it  passed. 

But  Sam'le  Laskey  did  not  forget.  To  him  it  was  as 
yesterday  that  the  blazing-eyed  witch  had  come  close 
to  his  home  and  tortured  him  ;  and  he  hated  her ;  and 
day  after  day  he  stood  upon  Averack  beach  and  cursed 
her  with  his  impotent  tongue,  and  hurled  pebbles  into 
the  sea,  climbing  back  up  the  path  to  the  churchyard 
when  he  had  done  it,  to  lay  his  mouth  to  the  turf  and 
whisper  of  his  work. 

THE   END. 


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